Uncovered
by tris-everdeen99
Summary: Hermione's marriage to Ron has broken down, and Draco discovers that his wife is cheating on him. When the two are brought together in circumstances no-one could have predicted, they realise that perhaps they still have the chance to find love after all...DM/HG
1. Chapter 1 - Encounter

**Chapter 1 - Encounter**

**Hi everyone! This is my first ever chapter of a fanfic...AAAH! Just a warning, I WILL NOT be posting another until about halfway through July...if I do post earlier, it won't be very frequently - but in a month or so, updates should become more regular :) This is nowhere near as good as later chapters, but hope that you enjoy it anyway!**

"MUM! I'm going to be LATE!"

Hermione stumbled down the stairs, pinning up her hair as she ran. She grabbed the suitcase she'd packed; only to find that her daughter was already standing at the door, suitcase in hand, auburn hair neatly tied back, with a suitably unimpressed expression on her face.

"Rose, honey, I'm sorry but I couldn't find any of your robes or books to pack, so I've put in some of my old textbooks and I'll have some new ones sent to you when you've arrived, ok?" she wheezed, with her best pleading eyes. Rose Weasley did NOT like to be unprepared.

"Mum. You do realise that I packed about a week ago? I told you I'd already put everything in my suitcase!" Rose gestured towards the case in her right hand, "that's why you couldn't find my stuff!" she raised one eyebrow. "Please, please, pleeease could you get dad to hurry up now? I don't want to miss the train!"

Hermione smiled at her daughter. Yes she was annoyed that she'd spent an hour trying to pack seemingly non-existent clothes, but Rose reminded her of when she was learning at Hogwarts too…she was so proud of her daughter. Not so much impressed by her husband though…

"RONALD WEASLEY. GET YOUR LAZY BUTT DOWN HERE!" she screamed, and was then greeted by the sight of her husband stumbling down the stairs wearing only his boxers.

"Ron! We have to leave now! Rose is going to miss the train – why the hell aren't you dressed?" she demanded.

"I'm not coming."

Hermione froze in shock. She turned to her daughter, who was tapping her foot with a furious expression of her face.

"Rose, can you take the bags outside? I need to speak with your father – I promise we'll leave as soon as possible, ok?"

She was answered by a huff, as Rose turned on heel and dragged her suitcase outside.

Hermione turned to her husband.

"Ron, what do you mean "you're not coming"?" she asked.

Ron shrugged, "I mean that I'm not coming. I had some exhausting training yesterday, and I need to sleep before the match this afternoon."

"Match?! That's just a practice game! You're going to miss saying goodbye properly to our daughter so you can sleep? Do you realise that we won't be seeing her for months, Ron? Our daughter is going to boarding school and you don't even have the decency to say goodbye to her?! What is wrong with you? All your life ever seems to revolve around is quidditch this, and quidditch that! What about us?" she hit his shoulder.

"Mione, I'm sorry. I really am. It's just that the team's been so busy…it's hard to spend time with you. I promise I'll try harder now… I really will. Ok?" He embraced her.

"So you'll come then?"

"No, I need to sleep! Didn't you hear me?"

Hermione pushed Ron away from her.

"You disgust me. I should have known you wouldn't have felt some empathy for once." She turned around and strode out of the door. "Come on Rose, we're leaving."

Ron heard the familiar pop as they disapparated. He sighed, before yawning, and headed back upstairs to bed.

**ooooo**

Hermione and Rose landed with a lurch on platform 9 ¾. The old system of running at a wall in King's Cross had long since changed – the proximity with muggles was far too risky. As she looked around, she realised that the Hogwarts Express had already begun to slowly pull out of the station. She thrust Rose's suitcase at her before kissing her quickly on the forehead and pushing her towards the train.

"Run Rose! Quick, you can still catch it!"

As Rose jumped onto the train, turning around to wave, before slipping inside a carriage, she breathed a sigh of relief but was stopped short as she caught sight of a familiar head of platinum blond hair.

Draco Malfoy.

His figure had broadened at the shoulders and his skin was slightly darker than its original pale hue, but it was certainly her old school nemesis. She watched as the woman standing next to him – presumably his wife – whispered something in his ear before turning around and sashaying out of the station. Merlin knew how she walked in those heels!

Hermione began to walk towards the exit until she realised that to leave, she had to walk right past _him._

"It's ok, Hermione." She muttered under her breath, "just keep walking. You can ignore him. Just keep walking." She repeated this until she'd walked right past him, but was stopped in her tracks at the sound of a lilting drawl:

"Talking to yourself, Granger? Can't say that I'm surprised."

_Damn. _He'd noticed her.

She continued to walk, trying to ignore Malfoy but heard heavy footsteps behind her.

"She looks like you, you know?"

Hermione slowly turned around. "What?"

"Your daughter. Looks just like you. I wouldn't be surprised if Scorpius found her holed up in the library and reprimanding others about their use of potions terminology before long."

Hermione almost snapped back at him, before noticing an almost imperceptible smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Draco Malfoy smiling? Godric help her.

Instead of retorting with her usually sharp tongue, she decided to let it go.

"I'm busy Malfoy. I might see you later." She spoke firmly, before turning around to stride away. As she walked, she wasn't certain if her Malfoy-addled brain had imagined it or if she'd actually heard the reply:

"Yeah. I'll see you, Granger."

**What do you think? Good? Bad? Please, please review...it's really appreciated by a first-time writer like me! Thanks!**

**Tris xxx**


	2. Chapter 2 - Thorns

**Chapter 2 – Thorns**

**That's right everyone! I'm back! Thank you so much to everyone who favourited and followed...you are all quite simply amazing! And you wonderful people who reviewed - you are the reason that I've updated so much earlier than I'd originally planned! I couldn't resist...soo...here it is! Chapter 2! Enjoy!**

Draco smirked to himself as he apparated outside Malfoy Manor. He couldn't quite grasp how he'd failed to encounter Granger (she'd never be a Weasley to him) before their teens' third year, but watching her register that he'd behaved civilly – for a Malfoy - was just as satisfying as irritating her in school. The know-it-all really did need to learn to keep her emotions under control… he would definitely remember to owl Scorpius later and find out if her daughter was nearly as entertaining as she was – much to his disappointment he'd been sorted into Ravenclaw as opposed to Slytherin, and naturally Granger's sprog shared the same house.

He stopped short in his tracks.

Was he truly reduced to stalking muggle-borns now? After getting over his initial prejudice about blood purity, Draco had found that they weren't quite as bad as he thought they were. But why was he so interested in Granger? Her reactions as she fought internal battles were amusing… perhaps that was the source of his amusement?

After facing 14 years of marriage with an emotionless airhead, watching someone display their thoughts so easily was almost refreshing. Of course, he didn't hate Astoria… but his wife was so plastic… and to be perfectly honest, their marriage was more out of convenience than love.

Love… Astoria certainly didn't care about him as she'd once again forgotten their wedding anniversary. 14 years. She'd claimed she was going out with a friend, but he knew that once again she was avoiding him.

Draco exhaled sharply.

Nothing new there.

**ooooo**

Hermione slammed the door before sprinting to Diagon Alley – damn her stupid work-heels! She threw open the door to the shop before checking her watch! Ten minutes! Record time for a working mum…

She glanced up to see an amused face peering down at her when she collapsed to the ground.

"Mrs Weasley?" her receptionist Charlie seemed torn between bursting out laughing and wondering why her shoes were mismatched – and on the wrong feet.

"I had – h – had to. Had to – drop – drop Rose off. Late." She gasped between breaths.

"Umm, no disrespect intended…but you're a witch."

"I know."

"Witches can do magic."

"I know."

"You are a witch who can do magic."

"I know!"

"Then why didn't you just apparate here?!"

"Damn."

**ooooo**

Draco sighed as he checked his watch for what must have been the millionth time in the last hour. Astoria had been gone nearly the entire day! 11 o'clock at night, and she still wasn't back – that was late for a "lunch" meet-up to say the least.

He threw back his head and downed the contents of his crystal whiskey glass, relishing the fire it sent coursing through his insides. A sudden "bang!" of the front door closing made him jump off the sofa and rush to the doorway, just in time to see Astoria shove something into her back trousers' pocket. Her hair was messed up, her blouse slightly torn and her make-up smudged.

"Astoria! What happened to you?" he exclaimed, the shock at the change from her usually immaculate appearance just registering at the back of his alcohol-addled brain.

"Um. Weather. Outside. Yeah, it's really, um, windy, Draco." She mumbled.

"Alright, but what took you so long? I thought we could spend some time together today…because…you know…"

"What's with the interrogation? I was out with a friend, husband of mine, and you have no right to question me! Now, excuse me, I am tired, and I wish to take a shower, so please move!" she pushed past him and practically ran up the stairs. As she ran, Draco spotted a – green? – rose in the back of her pocket. What?

And why was his wife behaving so defensively? He's only asked her an innocent question and she'd practically screeched at him! Draco sighed, and slowly climbed the winding marble stairs to their bedroom, but stopped when he heard Astoria speaking to someone.

"I know, darling, but I had to run… Yes, I know, but Draco would have suspected something, Salazar damn him. Yes…I had fun too… best "anniversary" ever!"

So she did remember…

"Yes, of course. Alright then…Until next time, handsome."

Draco gasped. Astoria calling someone other than him handsome? Not that she ever did lavish him with praise.

He slowly stepped forward, and peered through the crack of their bedroom door, watching numbly as his wife pulled out the definitely emerald-tinted rose from her back pocket.

Slytherin green: how fitting.

She inhaled the cloying sweetness, placed a butterfly kiss of the edge of a petal, then almost reverently placed it on her bedside table before casting a disillusionment charm on it.

"Goodnight, my love." She whispered.

Draco could only stare in horror.

A green rose – clearly symbolising love, but of a twisted nature, deviated away from its original state. And the thorns had not been removed –

At that moment it felt as though they had pierced his heart.

**Soo...you like? The interesting stuff is going to start soon...and I promise, if I get at least 15 reviews more (ambitious, I know :P) I will update MUCH faster! The choice is in your hands, people! **

**Tris xx**

**P.S. If you do choose to review (PLEASE DO!) then I would appreciate it if you mentioned any part you particularly liked...so I know what to include more of :) thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Shock

**Chapter 3 – Shock**

**Hellooo everyone! Yeah, I didn't get 15 reviews...but 10 is definitely good enough! Thank you so much to everyone who did review, and to you awesome people who favourited and followed...PLEASE review this time if you haven't already!**

**So, just to answer a couple of questions:**

**To ... umm... guest? Guys, please write a name if you're a guest reviewer! Yeah, so the thorns were basically just meant to show that to every "beautiful" thing there's a harsh edge too... did that answer your question?**

**And... anonymous ... thank you so much for your review, but I'd prefer it if you kept your guess to yourself so it doesn't "ruin" it for other people...sooorry! But I love you anyway!**

**I've blathered on for long enough, so here it is! Chapter 3! Enjoy!**

Hermione awoke to the sun streaming through the gauze of her window drapes. The gaps in the curtains filtered the beams, making them appear to dance across her bed sheets. The very sight made her want to cry.

She'd come home after work yesterday to find an empty house – after waiting nearly three hours for Ron to appear, she eventually gave up and dragged herself to bed, leaving her unfinished glass of wine on the table downstairs.

She slowly got ready for work – after showering and brushing her teeth she dressed in an ivory blouse and simple navy trousers – her usual work clothes. Then she performed the usual straightening charms on her untameable hair with a sigh: quite frankly she did not care how whether it fell in curls or not, but it was required to maintain a professional appearance at her company so…

Before she headed downstairs, she heard the unmistakable flap of wings and turned to the window to see a dappled coffee-coloured owl approaching. With an excited squeal she ran over to open the window and grabbed the letter from the owl's claws, threw it a treat and slammed the window shut again in one fluid motion.

After ripping open the letter she gazed hungrily at its contents – of course, Rose had only been gone for less than a day, but she still missed her baby…or teenager…

_Mum,_

_I knew that you were desperate for me to write ASAP despite what you said sooo…that's right! Less than 48 hours and I've already sent you one letter! One down, 400 million to go!_

She smiled inwardly at her daughter's sarcastic humour.

_It feels amazing to be back again. I have to admit that I definitely missed the library the most – I don't think I'll ever be able to spend enough time in it! I'm actually writing this to you in the library at the moment… it's so weird to think that you might have sat right herewith Aunt Ginny, reading "Hogwarts, a History" like I was a moment ago..._

_Ugh. I have to go – irritating Hufflepuffs need help with lesson preparation: again! Sorry!_

_Love you so much, thinking of you. Say hi to dad._

_Rose xxx_

Hermione smiled softly, before gently tucking the letter into her bedside drawer and practically skipping down the steps. As she passed the living room, she sensed a hint of alcohol, and curiously stepped in to find her husband passed out of the sofa, reeking of liquor. Her wine glass from last night was empty. Clearly that wasn't the only alcohol Ron had consumed, as the smell alone was enough to make her lightheaded. She shook her head sadly, before going to the door to put on her shoes and disapparating.

**ooooo**

Hermione arrived at her business and stepped inside with a sigh of relief. Though it made her feel terrible, in truth, she was relieved to be out of Ron's presence. She smiled at Charlie, and stepped through the consultant rooms past the reception until she'd finally passed the noise of her employees consulting clients, reaching her office at the very back of the building.

She preferred to be away from the noise of the rest of the business – as the Head, it was unnecessary for her to partake in the usual routine of everyone else. Her strict policy was that high profile clients, or important cases would go straight to her, which she dealt with personally, otherwise she preferred to submerge herself in going through documents in the isolated silence of her office.

**ooooo**

Draco grabbed his wand and stormed down the staircase. Astoria had left – probably to meet with… _him_… - and Draco had immediately decided that he needed to find out exactly what his wife was doing and who she was meeting with. There was no point in confronting Astoria: she'd never admit it, and he wouldn't be able to prove anything. So, he'd decided to seek help in the first place he'd thought of:

Charming Investigators.

He quickly apparated into the store to be greeted by a plump receptionist with arms that quite simply could not hold any more fat than they currently did.

"Helloooo, sir, and welcome to Charming Investigators! What can we – "

"I need to speak to the Head of your department. Now." He interrupted.

"Um, I'm sorry sir but we have a process if you need the assistance of – "

"I'm willing to pay 200, 000 galleons."

"…" Shocked silence. "Very well sir, I'll see what we can do for you. Please wait, a moment, I'll be back shortly."

It was amazing what money could do.

**ooooo**

Hermione sighed as she heard Charlie pounding through the hallway to her office. She loved her receptionist dearly, but the woman made more noise alone than an entire herd of hippogriffs!

She stumbled into the doorway not bothering to knock, puce in the face and gasping for breath, "Mrs Weasley! You've been requested immediately for a case!" she panted.

Hermione sighed. "Charlie, you know we have an application system, and I will analyse the case and decide if it's really necessary for me to take it, if so – " she was cut off.

"He's offered 200, 000 galleons."

Once more, stunned silence.

"I'll be right there."

**ooooo**

Hermione smoothed her blouse, checked that her lipstick hadn't smudged as she'd been furiously chewing the nib of her quill, and breathed deeply, calming herself as she prepared to meet… well, Merlin knew who he was, but he certainly must've been wealthy!

She strode through the corridor, relishing the satisfying "click" her heels made on the polished floor, and stepped out into the reception area to be greeted by possibly her worst nightmare.

Malfoy's eyebrows shot up into his forehead, and she could only just register what was happening before he spoke.

"Granger. When I said that I'd see you, I didn't mean it literally."

"Malfoy." She replied.

They turned simultaneously to Charlie, then stared back at each other.

"I can't work with you!"

**Heehee! Let the fun begin!**

**Soo...what did you think? Please review and tell me what you liked about it (or hated, but preferably not :P). Ten reviews and I'll update! :)**

**Tris xx**


	4. Chapter 4 - Deal

**Chapter 4 - Deal **

**Guys! You are AMAZING! More than 10 reviews...wow...I am literally gobsmacked. Currently dealing with an attack of hay fever - it's hell, and I also lost my voice this morning, so honestly, you have actually made my day. I loved writing this chapter...it's so fun to think about how they'd interact, so I hope you all enjoy it too!**

"No way in Hell am I working with you, Granger. I'd rather be locked up in a freaking cell in Azkaban!" he yelled.

"Well you're not exactly a bunch of sunshine and daisies either Malfoy!" she retorted equally loudly, "Godric help me if you actually think I'd tolerate your snarky Slytherin comments!"

"Well at least I'm easier to bear than you are – I swear your employees must actually need to be admitted to St Mungo's from going insane with the constant meetings with you!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" she bellowed.

"How dare you?" he mimicked.

"Shut up!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"If you don't shut your trap, you'll see my fist re-arrange your pretty-little face like I did during third year!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"BE QUIET!" Charlie bellowed.

Draco and Hermione slowly turned away from each other, still seething, to see that pretty much the entire department had become deathly silent.

"Sir, Mrs Weasley, we are attracting attention." Charlie hissed, "Now I strongly suggest that this discussion is taken to your office immediately – I believe our company has seen enough drama for one day!"

Despite the fact that Charlie was Hermione's receptionist, she had an element of her mother-in-law that made it clear that they should behave exactly as she said – no one wanted to cross Charlie.

Hermione sniffed.

"Malfoy, if you'd be so kind as to follow me, we can continue this discussion in my office as Charlie has suggested." She ground out, through gritted teeth, then turned and practically marched down the corridor, leaving Draco no other option but to follow. In her haste to get away from the curious (and somewhat amused) expressions of her employees, she missed his muttered reply:

"Like I'd willingly follow you anywhere."

Charlie looked up sharply as she heard this, sending Draco a glare stonier than the Basilisk's itself. She may not be as elevated in society as he was, but no-one insulted her employer under her watch.

"Bloody hippogriff-woman."

**ooooo**

"Malfoy."

"Granger."

"Malfoy."

"I think we've established that that is indeed my surname."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why are you here, Malfoy? What do you want?" she hissed.

"I need to hire the best investigator the company can offer." He stated, frankly.

"And may I ask you for what purpose? Firstly, what type of investigation are we looking at? Long-term, or short?" she asked, her tone bordering on patronising.

"Long-term…I should think. Which is why I need your best investigator. As in, flawless methods of enquiry."

Hermione sighed, and slowly massaged her temple. "That would mean this case should go to me."

"You? Granger, you how could… you… manage something like this?" he scoffed.

"I should have you know that I work harder than you ever have in your entire life. I don't run this business for nothing. Now, I am not pleased in any way with the circumstances, but if you want "the best" Malfoy, you'd best be pleased with what we're offering, or I shall have to ask you to leave!" Hermione spat out.

"Bravo, Granger. Truly inspirational speech. But I will have to ask you to adopt a more respectful tone if we are to collaborate." Draco smirked.

Hermione was gobsmacked. Did Malfoy just agree to work with her? And…was he smiling? Smirking? Merlin knew what the tug at the corners of his mouth actually meant… but there was definitely no malice in it. How could he go from ranting about her lack of competence to _teasing _her the next minute?

She realised he was waiting for a reply.

"I believe that we can come to an agreement. Take a seat. Would you like a – " she cringed, "a…a coffee whilst we set the guidelines for the case?" she managed to choke out.

"Coffee would be excellent."

**ooooo**

Draco watched as Hermione nursed her steaming mug of coffee in her hands. She slowly took a sip, and he raised an eyebrow, subtly implying that he was waiting for her to speak, but she took her time in placing the mug on the table, straightening her blouse, and clearing her throat before she began.

"Right, Malfoy – "

"Shouldn't you call me _Mr _Malfoy?" he cut in.

It was Hermione's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"No, Malfoy."

"Yes, Granger."

"No, Malfoy. As I was saying, our usual process is to meet frequently with our clients every week – at least three times. Before we properly begin, I'd like to make it clear that in Charming Investigators, the client and investigator will work together on the case." She stressed the "together" in particular. "Our services are meant to help people, not work under them, so the client and investigator are required to have – " she faltered, "a… close relationship."

Draco inwardly smirked at her discomfort. It was unbelievably pleasing to watch her squirm – he enjoyed to watch any person he disliked suffer.

"Is that understood by you?"

"Quite." He replied.

"Okay. We usually begin with a complete "briefing" during the first meeting, so I'm going to ask you what we will be investigating. And may I write this down: for convenience's sake?" Hermione flicked her wand and charmed her quill to rise above a piece of parchment.

He nodded, before exhaling slowly. He never thought he'd be telling Hermione Granger/Weasley – bookworm extraordinaire and despicable Gryffindor his possibly worst situation he had ever endured. Draco took another deep breath – best to get this over with.

"My wife is cheating on me." He deadpanned, then held his breath – he was actually apprehensive of what her reaction would be; he, Draco Malfoy appeared to be "not good enough" for his wife. It actually made him want to – he shuddered – vomit.

He watched as the charmed quill furiously scratched out his answer, and Hermione froze, then slowly looked up. "Your wife is cheating on you?"

"That's what I said."

It took her a while to answer – she obviously tried to choose her words carefully. "I see… and where exactly do we come into this?" he inwardly applauded her answer. Revealing no emotions, professional, and absolutely no shock displayed at all. Impressive.

"I need to find out who he is."

Hermione paused once more. "I see… forgive me if I am intruding, but surely it would be better for you to speak to …Astoria?..." he nodded to confirm, "about this? As opposed to spending money on an investigation?"

"She would deny it immediately. And then she would know to be more careful – Granger, I have to prove that I'm right. You don't seem to understand that we don't really love each other – I am hurt, and angry, but not heartbroken. But I need to file for a divorce, and provide evidence for my reasons: she cannot continue to live off my money like this. Do you understand?" he asked, urgently.

"…I believe so. Alright then. I think the best way to go about this would be for you to go home and prepare some background information – I need to know exactly what has happened so far so we know how to approach this. Do you think you can make a couple of lists: all of the reasons why you believe she is being unfaithful, and evidence you have to prove this, and a list of suspects or opportunities? That may sound dramatic but…" she trailed off.

"Fine." He nodded curtly.

"Good. We can meet again tomorrow – is 3 o'clock here alright?" she asked.

Draco hesitated. "Granger – I'd prefer to meet somewhere slightly less formal. This is quite stressful; I think an office environment would pressurise us too much. We could meet over lunch?"

Hermione reeled back in surprise. He'd actually asked for her agreement! Malfoy really was full of surprises. "Yes, that's fine. How about "Prendre le Risque"? It's often used for business."

"Err, no, Granger. It's quite high-class – we should meet at a café." He replied.

Hermione turned an alarming shade of red. "What? Am I not good enough for your fancy restaurants? Don't want to be seen in public with a _mudblood, _Malfoy? Merlin, you're exactly the same as you were in Hogwarts!" she fumed.

"Calm down Granger! Don't over-react – as usual! I simply thought that it would be equally as stressful as in the office – maintaining professional appearances and all that! Merlin woman, you don't have to jump to conclusions!" he scoffed.

"Oh."

"Yes, "oh"."

Hermione cleared her throat. "I apologise Malfoy." She winced. "How about the Three Broomsticks? Is one o'clock alright?" she bit her lip.

"Yes. Fine, I'll prepare the list for tomorrow." Draco stood up, and awkwardly proffered a hand for her to shake. She stood up, and accepted it, then clenched her fist a couple of times as though she'd been given an electric shock.

"Tomorrow, Malfoy. Don't be late." She offered a wary smile.

"I never am."

**Oooh...a case :) so, if we get to 40 reviews, I WILL update. Promise. xx Out of interest, if you are awesome enough to review, please mention if you're "team Malfoy or Granger" from this chapter...I'm curious :D**

**Tris xx**


	5. Chapter 5 - Confessions

**Chapter 5 – Confessions**

**...PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Yes, I know I should have updated a few days ago...but I've been REALLY busy...end of school and all that trash. Sooorry guys - but on a more positive note:**

**BLOODY HELL! You are AMAZING! 47 REVIEWS?! Words cannot describe how I'm feeling right now... *awkwardly hugs computer***

**Well, guys, here it is! Chapter 5! Enjoyyyy! :)**

Hermione waved to Charlie, then stepped outside of the office to face the cool evening breeze. She would usually have stayed at work until at least 7 o'clock, but she'd promised Ginny that she'd come over for a "girly night in". Merlin knew how that woman could bear to fawn over pictures of practically naked men in "Witch Weekly" when she was married to the "Boy-Who-Lived"… and when she was pregnant too!

She quickly apparated outside their home, but before she could even raise her hand to grasp the wooden door-knocker, the door flew open and she was hit by 75 kilograms of squealing-pregnant-woman.

"MIONE! I MISSED YOU SOOOOOO MUCH! WHY HAVEN'T YOU COME TO SEE ME? LOOK HOW FAT I'VE GOTTEN!" she gasped for a lungful of air, "andhow'sworkbeenbecauseiknowyou'reusuallybusynowa itthatdoesn'tmatteryoushouldseehowmuchi'vebeeneati ngrecentlyi'mlikeabiglumpofpotatobutharrysaysi'mst illbeautifulilovehimsomuchoohihadtheweirdestcravin gyesterdayforchickenandschocolateohthatremindsmear eyoueatingenoughbecausemumsaysshewantstosendyousom epiewouldyoulikethat?" she burst out.

"Ginny…can't…breathe…let…me…go" she wheezed.

"Oh." Ginny blushed – clashing – and sheepishly let go of her friend. "Sooorry Mione – I've missed you so much! Harry literally screamed at me to stop fidgeting for the past 3 hours because I've been so excited!"

Hermione gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as they walked into the house. "I've missed you too, Gin. Work has been sooo crazy recently – but let's not talk about that. How's the baby?"

Ginny smiled. "Like a dream. She kicks like anything – got the muscles of a quidditch player, I can tell you that!"

"Painful huh?" she smiled sympathetically.

"Actually, not really! But it's amazingly fun to pretend I'm all hormonal and yell at Harry…ooh, wait, I can show you!" a mischievous grin stole across the plump red-head's face as she dragged Hermione into the sitting room.

"HARRY!" she bellowed.

Hermione looked towards the doorway to see Harry stumble into the room, one shoe on, coat inside out, and hair as dishevelled as ever.

"Hi Mione! It's so great to see you!" he grinned.

Hermione was about to reply, but Ginny beat her to it.

"Harry! Aren't you glad to see me?" she whispered.

"What? Gin, I just spoke to you like five minutes ago!" he laughed.

"Oh!" Ginny gasped. "Mione, he's trying to say he's fed up of me!"

"Huh? No, I - "

"NOOOO!" Ginny cried out, burying her face in Hermione's shoulder. "And now he's arguing with me! He doesn't love me anymore! I should have known you'd leave me after the baby Harry – oh! It's because I'm fat now, isn't it?" and she began to sob.

"Ginny? No, I'm still in love with you!" Harry started to look worried. "I just thought that I should say hi to Mione first – you know, because we haven't seen each other in so long!"

Ginny sat up, eyes flashing. "How. Dare. You. You prefer her to me! You big, fat butt-head! I am carrying your baby, and you'd prefer to flirt with my best friend!"

"What?! Ginny, she's my best-friend too!"

"There! You admitted you prefer her!"

"Umm…I'm sorry?"

"GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE, HARRY POTTER, AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING BACK!" Ginny advanced with each word, prodding Harry hard in the chest. She was a formidable sight, with her hair wild and belly protruding.

"I- I—I didn't – I'm sorry – " Harry tripped and almost fell flat on his face in his haste to leave the room. Hermione heard the door slam as he ran from the house, and looked at Ginny turn around with a smile on her face.

"That was fun." She stated.

"Ginny Potter, you are evil!"

"But the look on his face…" and they both collapsed into fits of laughter.

**ooooo**

Draco bent over his desk, furiously scribbling at piece of parchment…

_Miles,_

_I've been called away for urgent external business. Cannot reveal details, but all is well. I trust you'll keep the company running efficiently – I shall frequently update you on meetings etc. and expect you to attend in my place. Hopefully I should be back in a few weeks._

_Mr Malfoy_

He folded the letter up, sealed it into an envelope, and quickly attached it to his owl's leg before opening the window for it. He didn't feel guilty at all for the slight deception of his deputy head… he needed to commit all his time working on the case with Granger, and Miles would run Malfoy Incorporations Inc. far more effectively if he wasn't worrying about Draco's personal business.

Draco looked up to hear the roar of the fireplace in the sitting room as the flames turned green and a figure stepped out, brushing soot from his clothes. He hadn't expected Miles to respond so quickly, but furrowed his brow in confusion as he realised that it wasn't his deputy brushing soot of his clothes, but his closest friend.

"Blaise?" he exclaimed. "What brings you here?"

Blaise grinned widely, "Draco! It's been too long!" he cried out, gathering him into a "man hug" and heartily slapping his back.

"Blaise…I wasn't expecting you…" he started.

"Not disappointed to see me, are you?" his grin contradicting the seriousness of his tone.

"Um, no, 'course not. Sit down, have a drink." He gestured to the empty armchair beside him.

"I've got big news, man."

**ooooo**

"Okay! Mione, I'll get the nail varnish, hair curlers, and sexy lingerie, and you get all the ice-cream you can find! GO!" Ginny ran – as fast as a heavily pregnant woman can – and started to climb the stairs to her bedroom.

"GINNY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "SEXY LINGERIE"?!" Hermione bellowed.

Ginny sheepishly came back downstairs, clutching a handful on nail varnish bottles. "Umm….I'd hoped you wouldn't notice I said that…Ron may or may not have bought some underwear…and asked me to give it to you?" the look on Hermione's face immediately turned thunderous. "PLEASEDON'THURTME!" Ginny screeched, cowering away.

"Ginny. Don't be stupid. But there's no way even Merlin could persuade me to wear anything Ron's bought – especially underwear! Come on, let's go stuff ourselves with ice-cream." She smiled, and after stopping at the kitchen to grab as much "Veelas' Vanilla" and "Cornelius' choc-and-fudge", they settled in the living room on a pile of duvets.

"You do realise that we're waayyy too old to be doing this, don't you?" Hermione mumbled, between mouthfuls of ice-cream, "I have a teenage daughter, and you're pregnant for Merlin's sake!"

"Yep. And we're actually eating ice-cream named after Cornelius Fudge. What has the world come to?!" and they started to giggle." Ooh, Mione, let me paint your nails!" Ginny squealed between un-lady-like snorts, "OOOH! Look, this one says it'll describe your exact mood or feelings! It came with an issue of "Witch Weekly"…let me try it on you!" she grabbed Hermione's hand, and began attacking her fingernails with a brush.

"Okay…the colour's turned turquoise…that means "you're uniting with old enemies". What?!"

Hermione froze. Surely a gimmick for teenage girls wouldn't actually predict what was going on in her life? "Uhh…these cheapo things never actually work Gin…it's probably just a joke…"

"No, Mione, we're in the Wizarding World! Hello? Magic nail-varnish? Of course it works. Oh my gosh! You don't think that I'm your enemy do you?" she gasped.

"Ginny! Don't be stupid!"

"Yeah…ok…but then who does it mean?"

"Umm…Ginny. I have something to tell you. You might want to sit down."

"I am already, genius."

Hermione giggled nervously. "Yeah, sorry. All right… the stupid nail varnish was talking about… Malfoy. I am working with Draco Malfoy."

**ooooo**

"Big news?" Draco asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Blaise, the last time you told me you had big news, you'd discovered that chocolate lollipops actually existed."

"Aahhh…man, Muggles do create _some _good stuff…" his eyes glazed over.

"Earth to Blaise!" Draco waved a hand in front of his face. "Mate, I don't mean to be short, but if you've got something to tell me, say it already, otherwise I've got work to do!"

Blaise sat up. "Okay…here goes…I've finally found her."

"What?"

"I'm always going on about how I've never found a woman who totally understands me, right? Well now I have. And Salazar help me Draco, she is just so amazing. But the thing is…she's kinda unavailable."

"Again, what?"

Blaise sighed impatiently. "Draco, she's already in a relationship. But I love her, and I think she's got the physical-attraction thing for me going on…and I want more. What do I do?"

Draco swallowed, thinking of his own predicament. He almost considered telling Blaise about Astoria…but something stopped him. "Blaise…Merlin, this is messed up. Blaise, even if she doesn't love him, she's in a relationship already. You've got to tell her to end it with him, or forget about you. If she's really…really… into you, she'll come after you. Definitely."

Blaise grinned. "You're right. I'm gonna do it." He suddenly turned sombre. "Draco, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Oh…umm…barging in on you like this. Yeah, I was making a big deal out of nothing." He rushed out. "I'll see you later." And he grabbed a handful of floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and stepped into the flames before Draco had the chance to say bye. He sighed, and turned back to his desk to begin preparing his list for Granger.

**ooooo**

"YOU WHAT?!" Ginny yelled.

"I'm working with Draco Malfoy. Ginny, he's offering 200,000 galleons – I can't turn that down! Think what it'll do for the company!"

"Mione, do you realise that this is ferret-face you're helping? He ruined your life in Hogwarts! And – in case you've conveniently forgotten – his father was one of You-Know-Who's closest followers! What's this case about anyway?"

"I know, Ginny, and I don't like it either, but I've got to do it. I can't talk about the case to anyone. Customer policy and all that."

"This is messed up, Hermione."

"More than you can imagine."

**Aww, I love Ginny :D I was trying not to laugh when I wrote this...so, you guys like? Please, please drop me a review...virtual cookies if you do! Aaand, 65, and I'll update. More, and...well, you'll see when the time comes. Love you all,**

**Tris xxx**


	6. Chapter 6 - Appearances

**Chapter 6 – Appearances**

**Woah...guys, I'm disappointed :( less than 10 reviews...you wonderful people who did review, thank you as always, but otherwise...meh. Yeah, I was disappointed. Let's just leave it at that.**

**On a slightly happier note - I've set up a new poll! You can vote who ****_you _****think Astoria's secret lover is/should be on my profile page...I'm intrigued :P**

**A warning: this chapter is only a build-up to the next chapter, which is one of my favourites, so it's not amazingly interesting. The only reason they're not combined is because I didn't want it to be too long...but anyway, here it is! R&R pleeease - I'll love you forever xx**

Hermione yawned, and brushed the stray strands of her wild hair of her face. As she looked around the room, she realised that it was the tapping of an owl's beak which had awoken her. Rose's owl, more specifically. She slowly climbed out of bed, so as to prevent waking up Ron. Instead of staying over with Ginny as they'd originally planned, both females had decided it would be better if she went home for the night; the atmosphere had been somewhat spoilt at the mention of their school-nemesis – let alone the fact that she was working with him.

She crept over to the window and opened it, gently removing the letter from the owl's polished talons, and feeding it a treat.

"Good girl, Peanut. Stay here." She whispered, and unfolded the letter.

_Muuumm,_

_No reply? I'm hurt! (just joking)Lessons are going wonderfully…I'm pretty much top in Potions, Ancient Runes and Arithmacy, but Malfoy's close behind. Ugh. He seriously doesn't deserve to be though…really mum, I study unbelievably hard, like you did, but all he does is laze about and he STILL somehow manages to gain good grades. We were given some awful news…Professor Patil has set us a project in partners in Transfiguration…and I've been paired with Scorpius Malfoy himself! And the worst part is, he won't just sit back and let the other person do all the work like he normally does, he's actually insisting on working on the project too! It's awful…was his dad as bad as he is?_

_I've got Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and a couple of other subjects tomorrow. Then we have some spare time to work on any projects and make lists for the Hogsmeade trip… First one of the year! I think I'll put studying on hold for this one…_

_Please reply soon, love you lots,_

_Rose xxx_

Hermione smiled, and found a piece of parchment and her quill, and hurridly scratched out a reply.

_Darling Rose,_

_So sorry I didn't reply – I was caught up at work. It's wonderful to hear how well you're doing…so proud of you! Honey, I know you're probably frustrated about being paired with Scorpius Malfoy, and I can understand why: his father was just as bad in school, if not worse. We never had to work together however, and we never will…so I hope that you'll be the better person and try to tolerate him. _

She wasn't sure what prevented her from mentioning that she was in fact working with Malfoy…she never usually hid things from her daughter, but something inside her told her to keep it quiet after Ginny's reaction. She bit her lip, before continuing.

_Have fun at the Hogsmeade trip – I regret missing those, so take the chance to spend time with your friends before the serious exams in later years! Give my love to Neville in Herbology – tell him I'd love to meet for lunch sometime._

_Love you always,_

_Mum xx_

She sealed the letter into an envelope and attached it to Peanut's leg, before closing the window and heading back to bed. As she climbed under the sheets again, she saw the time on her bedside clock and almost screamed in shock: 11am! She was supposed to meet Malfoy in two hours for lunch, and she hadn't even prepared the documents necessary for the case at the office. She grabbed the first clothes she found from her cupboard and stumbled into the bathroom, slamming the door as she went and frantically trying to smooth her hair despite the fact that she still needed to wash it.

**ooooo**

Ron awoke with a start, and sat bolt upright in bed. As he turned to look over at Hermione, he realised that her side of the bed was empty and the fact that he heard running water confirmed that she was in fact already up. He blearily rubbed his eyes, before remembering his idea and quickly apparating into the garden.

Hermione wouldn't know what had hit her.

**ooooo**

Ten minutes since he'd arrived, and he was still waiting at the table. And Draco Malfoy did NOT like to be kept waiting. He stared once more at his watch before tapping his foot for what must have been the millionth time, looked towards the door, and back at his watch again. And quite literally doing a double take and staring back at the door. Finally the person he was waiting for had arrived – but Merlin, he could barely recognise her!

As Granger rushed in, he could barely keep his mouth from hanging open. All through Hogwarts she had followed the strict dress code, and her uniform and appearance was nothing less than pristine – with the exception of her hair, of course. When he'd met her again at the station and in the office, even years later she'd kept everything flawless and even her hair was perfectly combed and charmed into curls. But, today, he could hardly recognise her. She wore an electric blue jersey dress, but even with its high neck her "womanly features" were accentuated. With – BLACK COMBAT BOOTS? – and her hair roughly tied back, stray curls swinging in time with her steps, the Granger he knew and loathed had disappeared and in her place an almost human, and (he cringed) funky woman had appeared.

She must have caught him staring, because she glared at him, and spat out, "I know I look less than normal, Malfoy, but I was in a rush so there's no need to be rude!"

He blinked rapidly, before regaining his composure. It wasn't worth trying to explain why he was staring – and to be frank he was quite disgusted with himself, therefore simply cleared his throat and sat down stiffly. Salazar help him, it was going to be a long hour.

**ooooo**

Hermione gritted her teeth, and forced herself to start talking. She felt less than comfortable with the dress she was wearing…but had no time to have changed, so she'd just have to deal with it. But Godric be merciful, the look on the faces of her employees when she'd turned up wearing…this rag…was mortifying. And she'd seen more than a few of the males staring in places she was less than comfortable with; they'd naturally been treated with one of her infamous glares.

She opened her mouth and began to speak.

**Well, guys, you like? The next chapter is...interesting...I think. Please, please, PLEASE review... if we get to 70, I'll update. Love you all,**

**Tris xx**


	7. Chapter 7 - Lunch

**Chapter 7 – Lunch**

**Hi everyone :) Yeah, I'm back...and sooner than expected. ANEwrites - you're right, I have wayy too high expectations...they're still gonna be pretty high, but I'll try to tone down the stressiness for now :P Thank you as always to everyone who reviewed, I know I don't mention individuals but I ****_do _****take every single review into account, and you frequent reviewers (you know who you are!) thank you so, so much. You are wonderful, as I say... a lot... :D**

**So, this is the "big" chapter. I love writing their conversations, as always, so I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

"Malfoy, I managed to finish the documents necessary for us to continue working on the case," she began.

"And can I see them?"

"Umm…it's not really necessary for you to see them, it's just admin…we don't usually - "

"Granger. Stop waffling on. Can I see them or not?"

"I really don't - "

"Answer the bloody question!"

Hermione glared. "Malfoy," she hissed, "people are staring. I will thank you for addressing me slightly more respectfully than that or we'll have to end our agreement!"

"Granger." his tone was low, menacing. "I have been waiting for a long, long time for this meeting to begin. Don't beat around the bush. Can I read the documents or not?"

"No!"

It took him a moment to register her answer…he was expecting her to give in, for appearance's sake. He was actually impressed – this was more like the character he could deal with, not the stupid waffling idiot she was acting like a minute ago.

"Very well."

Hermione exhaled and took a moment to calm down. "Alright then, I've been thinking it would be best if we started by looking at the list(s) I asked you to make?"

Draco slowly pulled the pieces of parchment out from with breast pocket, but as Hermione reached her hand out for them he instinctively snatched them away. At the quizzical look on her face, he realised what he'd done – and the fact that he didn't want her reading through his thoughts and analysing them whilst he simply watched…but how to express that without sounding like a fool was beyond him. As he was about to attempt to placate her, they were interrupted by Madam Rosmerta and the clink of bells strewn across her robes coming to take their order. She'd never failed to keep the Three Broomsticks in "top condition" even after all the years since they were in Hogwarts, and continued to conjure up new ideas for outfits to "keep her sane". Her current obsession was with bells – quite frankly, the sound made you want to tear your hair out after less than ten minutes of constant jingling.

"Hello my dears – wonderful to see you again. But, no time to chat, we're very busy," she gestured at the pretty much empty tavern, much to both Draco and Hermione's confusion, "so, what can I get you two?"

Draco raised his eyebrows at Hermione. He may detest her, but he was a gentleman, and gentlemen strictly respected females. Merlin's beard he sounded like an idiot.

Hermione bit her lip. "I'll have a butterbeer…and is a salad possible?"

Rosemerta frowned, "I suppose so…what would you like in it?"

"Anything you think would be suitable." She smiled sunnily.

"And you," she hesitated, "sir?"

"The same, please. But a red currant rum instead of the butterbeer."

Rosmerta nodded curtly. "Very well, I'll be back with your orders shortly." And she swished off, in a whirl of bells, fabric and tinkling.

The two at the table took a moment in silence, before Hermione reached forward again for the papers, but once more Draco snatched them out of her reach. Before she could ask, he'd swiftly stated: "I think it would work better if I read these out loud to you. You won't understand my notes."

Hermione nodded slowly.

"Okay. Suspects: firstly, Miles – deputy head of my apartment. I don't really believe that he's interested in her, but there would have been many opportunities for him and Astoria to meet due to taking care of business at the Manor." He looked at her expectantly, but Hermione remained silent.

"Thoughts, Granger?" he sneered.

"No, Malfoy."

"Yes, Granger."

"No, Malfoy."

"What in Merlin's name do you mean by "no"?!" he fumed, exasperated.

She, however, remained calm. "I mean that I'd prefer to take this all in and discuss at the end. Otherwise we will have to stop constantly and this will take far, far too long."

He was about to snap back , but realised that she did in actual fact have some logic in her theory…and he was saved from answering by the clink of Madam Rosmerta's bells once more. She swept forward and placed their orders on the table with a flourish, before gliding away once more.

Draco slowly picked up his knife and fork, and looked up to see Hermione staring at him, eyebrows raised. He stared straight back at her.

**ooooo**

"You were saying, Malfoy?" she resisted the amused twitch at the corners of her mouth at his expression.

"Right. Okay, number two: Theo."

"Sorry, who?"

"Theodore Nott?"

She hesitated. "That rings a bell…Hogwarts?"

"Correct, as usual, Granger." He joked.

"I do have a reputation to maintain, Malfoy!" she answered! And they both laughed. Hermione sipped her butterbeer, whilst Malfoy spoke.

"Granger, don't let that head get too big. You won't fit into the broom-cupboard otherwise!"

"What?!"

"Oh, come on. We all heard about "Potter and Granger's shenanigans"! I'm just surprised that the Weasleys never joined in!"

Hermione gracefully choked on her drink, sending butterbeer spraying all over the table – much to Madam Rosmerta's anger.

"We WHAT?!"

"I said -"

"No, you know what? I don't exactly want to hear that again! Besides, at least we weren't at it in the Great Hall like yourself and Miss "I'm pug-faced-and-proud"!" she giggled, at the expression of outrage on his face.

"Granger," he growled, his tone sending shivers up Hermione's spine for some unknown reason, "I would retort, but my language isn't suitable for people to hear in public – and I'm not quite keen on my food now that it's covered in your saliva. I suggest we take a walk."

She nodded, and opened her wallet, but one look from him and she sheepishly replaced it in her purse, allowing him to pay the bill as they stepped out into the sunlight, both grinning.

That was a weird sentence.

Her and Malfoy joking together? What had the world come to? Of course, he was still arrogant and she hadn't forgotten about his behaviour in school, but she genuinely believed that he had changed at least a tiny amount – the laughing character next to her only supported her case.

"So," she started, "Theodore Nott?"

"Ah, yes." He was grim once more. "Theo and I are still in touch – and we've hosted many formal parties at the Manor, all of which he's attended – probably. Lots of opportunities for Astoria to encounter him, and he's not exactly bad-looking." He paused.

"Okay. Next, Malfoy?"

"That's it Granger."

"Once more, what?"

"That's all I've got…I honestly can't think of anyone else, and I was interrupted last night so…" he trailed off.

Hermione sighed, once more exasperated. "Okay, Malfoy. Reasons why you think she's…being unfaithful?" she saw him straighten up once more.

"Easy. She's been disappearing for "lunch with friends" for hours on end, and always comes back looking…dishevelled. She becomes defensive when I ask her ANYTHING, and I recently heard her on the phone to someone. And she called him…"handsome"…" he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Hermione felt awful for him – Malfoy or not. She nodded, encouragingly. "Right. Any concrete evidence?"

He hesitated. "Well…I few nights ago she came back with a rose. I'm certain it was from – _him_ – and it was charmed green. Slytherin green."

Hermione stopped short, then turned to him, beaming. "Malfoy, that's brilliant!"

At his look, she amended her sentence. "Sorry, not what happened, but my company is called _Charming _Investigators!"

"Yes…" he replied, slowly.

"And our speciality is using charms! Malfoy, if you get hold of that rose, I may be able to use a spell to work out who charmed it green! And then we have our culprit!"

Draco smiled. Genuinely. "I believe you may have an idea, Granger." He smirked, and continued, mockingly, "Always the clever one, weren't you?"

"I'll overlook that this time." She raised an eyebrow, jokingly. "Malfoy, can you get hold of that rose for me? And drop by the office with it as soon as possible?"

He took a moment to reply. And to her confusion, his tone contradicted the humour behind his words.

"For you? Anything."

**The usual questions: you like? Favourite bits? Please drop a quick review in that lovely little box below :D about 78 and I'll update!**

**Tris xx**


	8. Chapter 8 - Blood

**Chapter 8 – Blood**

**Helloooo my lovelies :) Ten reviews more - thank you so, so, so much! I'm trying to post a lot faster now...so, here it is! This is...quite a dramatic chapter. I dunno if I really pulled it off, so please give me your thoughts! Enjoy!**

Draco strode up the stairs purposefully after he'd apparated into the Manor's sitting room. He'd already stopped off at – he cringed inwardly – Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to buy some invisibility powder "for those young auror-wannabees", as suspected that Astoria may have placed wards or something equally ridiculous around the rose, which would sense someone using a disillusionment charm. Much to his own shame, he couldn't resist from buying a few extra products which he'd never had the chance to try as a teen. He was far too caught up in work for the Dark Lord to indulge in such frivolities. But now, when he looked back, he realised that the loyalty and dedication his family had given to the Dark Lord had extended far beyond the "security" they'd received in return. At the time, Draco had blindly followed his father's beliefs in blood superiority, and to be able to act upon those beliefs was reward enough for him. But when both of his parents had died – worryingly enough during the same week – he had begun to question his beliefs. And simply for one reason: for someone to ruin the lives of not only his enemies, but his followers too, surely they were not truly worth "worshipping"? Because it was true – Voldemort had not only taken his family's freedom, he had taken his childhood too.

He shook his head as though he could throw the thoughts swirling through his mid out, and far away from him. After glancing at his watch and concluding that he hadn't been standing too long in a world of his own – like the sentimental idiot he'd recently become - he took a moment before entering their bedroom to check that he wouldn't be caught in his bloody Gryffindor-style endeavour.

"Astoria?" he called out. "Astoria, are you back?"

When he was satisfied that he was indeed alone – except, of course, for the house-elves, he stepped into the room. If he remembered correctly, the rose was on Astoria's bedside table. He quickly cast the invisibility powder over himself, but to his horror he began to sparkle rather than disappear…not unlike that muggle children's fairy – Tinkerpoo, was it? He was about to run to the en-suite bathroom to wash the powder away, as glittering like a beacon would quite simply be the exact opposite effect of what he'd wanted, but relief replaced irritation as he did in fact see his arms slowly fade from sight.

Merlin that was a strange sentence.

He walked towards the bedside table, and felt around blindly, but to his frustration, he couldn't find the damn thing. Praying that Astoria had in fact restrained from placing wards on the despicable object, he drew his wand, and called out,

"Accio rose!"

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

"Accio green rose."

Zilch.

"Accio freaking-green-rose-which-some-bastard-gave-TO-MY- WIFE-WHO-IS-CHEATING-ON-ME!" his voice rose to a crescendo as he roared, trying to release the anger he felt inside. Naturally he'd expected nothing to happen, but because he was Draco-bloody-Malfoy-who-always-had-to-learn-the-ha rd-way, he felt a sharp stab in the palm of his outstretched left hand, and watched as a drop of crimson fell to the carpet to blossom into some sort of weird flower-shape. The rose was held in his fist. With its thorns embedded in his flesh. And bloody hell, it hurt.

He was about to use his wand to clean up the mess, but froze as he heard voices. One of which unmistakably belonged to his "darling wife". After looking around frantically, he proceeded to hide in the first place he thought of: under the bed.

Bad, bad idea, Draco.

**ooooo**

Hermione smiled to herself as she practically skipped home. Rather than apparating, she felt like going the muggle way, and with the sun shining over-head and the birds chirping, she did not regret her decision. She giggled to herself as she realised how much of a blathering-fool she must have sounded like, but quite frankly she couldn't care less. Malfoy had behaved civilly, almost jokingly to her shock, and she found him almost, almost pleasant to be with. He had matured, and she inwardly believed that maybe he had let go of his "I-am-greater-than-thou" attitude, though what had ensured the drastic change in his behaviour was a mystery to her. She actually felt for his situation – even though he was still Malfoy, he had been through a lot, and nobody should have to endure the process of awkward pretend-everything's-ok phase when their spouse was cheating on them. Still, they had come further into the case, and she truly believed that if she could get hold of the rose, she may be able to crack the mystery.

She giggled again. She actually sounded like Sherlock. Simply hilarious.

As she opened the front door, she was delighted to see Ron already home. Perhaps for once they would be able to spend some time together, and in her bubble of happiness, she ran over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

Everything happened in slow motion.

She felt herself tumble to the ground, and heard a sharp "crack" resounding through the room. Darkness overcame her mind, and the spinning room disappeared from sight.

When she awoke, the first thing she saw was a disfigured face looming over her, and she desperately tried to sit up. Futile attempt. Spots crowded her vision, and she felt something sticky matting her hair at the back of her head – she sank to the ground again.

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" the figure roared. "DON'T PRETEND THAT YOU'RE HURT, BECAUSE YOU AREN'T, HERMIONE! I WAITED THE ENTIRE DAY FOR YOU, I MISSED A WHOLE DAY OF WORK FOR YOU, AND YOU JUST COME WALTZING IN LIKE EVERYTHING'S NORMAL? WELL IT'S NOT! I HAD PREPARED LUNCH, BOUGHT FLOWERS, AND YOU JUST GO OFF TO WORK WITHOUT CHECKING WITH ME FIRST! ALL THAT MONEY HAS GONE TO WASTE, BECAUSE OF YOU!" the silhouette screamed.

In a quieter tone, the man added, "I'm fed-up of waiting. I need to be away from you, right now. Think about what you've done." And he turned, before walking out of the door.

She felt the shadows claiming her again, but before she succumbed to them, she caught a flash of red hair as the man walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.

Ron. The man was Ronald Weasley.

Then, everything went black.

**ooooo**

He desperately tried to slow his breathing, so that Astoria wouldn't hear him. As he peered out from under the bed, he heard the click of her heels, and saw her feet moving towards him. She sat down on the bad, and he felt the mattress sag as she kicked off her shows, and crossed her ankles.

Ever the true lady, even when not in public.

"I know, darling." She simpered.

It was him, again. She was talking to him. Merlin knew what she was using, though, because Astoria wouldn't be able to operate a mobile phone if she was given a course in handling electronics. Draco had a sudden flash of brilliance, and he grabbed an extendable ear (one of the extra products he'd indulged in at the joke shop) and pushed it across the floor so it was directly by her feet, hoping she wouldn't notice it. The creaking of the mattress springs made it difficult to hear what she was saying, so he quickly shoved the piece of string into his ears and waited for the crackling of what sounded like static to subside.

"That's right. Two weeks' time. Saturday? Oh, it's going to be amazing to finally go out properly with you! Where is it, again? Hogwarts? No! Minerva McGonagall actually allowed that? They need funding? Oh, that explains it. She always was a conniving old hag. So, 9pm in the Great Hall…a masked ball! Oh, darling I am simply over the moon! Alright then. Miss you too. Bye, darling."

Draco smirked. He felt a plan formulating – his wife and her lover were going to be at a masked ball in Hogwarts in two weeks' time. He knew when, where, who, what, and why. All that was left was to catch them.

His moment of internal victory as he lay on the ground, surrounded by dust, only lasted a second more, because just then he realised the true gravity of the situation. His wife really didn't love him and even if he never had loved her back it still hurt. And she was actually seeing another man behind his back.

"Astoria." He whispered.

The name felt bitter on his tongue. He gulped desperately, as though he could swallow the hostile taste of betrayal it left in his mouth.

**Well? What do you think? Ron bashing...meep...sorry, I couldn't resist. I reaaally hate him. Really. Really. So...as usual, ten reviews and I'll update!**

**Tris xx**


	9. Chapter 9 - Names

**Chapter 9 – Names**

**Ack. I am sooo sorry about the typos in the last chapter - I was in a huge rush to post it and obviously didn't proof-read properly. Thank you so much to VirgoLuck for pointing those mistakes out, and they have now been corrected :)**

**Moving on - WOAH! So many reviews! Well, thanks to all of you wonderful reviewers, here's another chapter so soon after the previous one. Yay :D thank you all so much... and to the guest reviewer who also uses the word "meep"... I think I've finally found my soulmate :P**

**Right, so...this chapter: Draco and Hermione basically get a lot closer. But don't worry, it's not all going to be sunshine and daisies from now on :) Enjoy!**

She sat at her desk, surrounded by piles of paper, desperately trying not to sob - to no avail. She burst into floods of tears.

It was bad enough that she was pretty much in agony, but she couldn't focus on her work at all, and though she'd done the best job she could at healing the wound at the back of her head once she'd woken up – in no less than a pool of her own blood – she really wasn't skilled enough to heal it completely. And she was too scared to go to anyone for help. If it weren't for the fact that she could use magic and her above average abilities, she may have…been killed. And worst of all, her Ron had done this to her.

Ronald Weasley, her childhood sweetheart, had assaulted her.

She'd always been aware of his streaks of anger when he was "in a mood" but only after he'd started playing for Chudley Cannons had his almost violent side shown. Perhaps it was due to the losses the team suffered, but not once before yesterday had Ron hurt her.

Before yesterday.

She didn't know whether he'd even realised if she was hurt, and where he was now, only Merlin knew.

Hurt. By her husband. Merlin knew.

The words tormented her as they danced through her throbbing head. It hurt so much.

She buried her face in her hands and wept.

**ooooo**

"That's alright, Mr Malfoy. She should be right there."

When Charlie had waved him through to Granger's office, the last thing Draco had expected was to see an emotional wreck sobbing at her desk. He dwindled in the doorway, unsure of whether to confront her or not, but some primitive instinct forced his to inch forward slowly. Only when he saw the blood on the previously flawless leather of her chair did he run forward, as though he had no control over his actions.

"Granger!" he knelt by her, and cautiously tried to get her to look at him. As he tried to lift her bowed head, he felt some sort of current run through his arm, but quickly masked his shock at the peculiar sensation. Now was not the time to be worrying about…whatever that was. "Granger! Look at me!"

He watched as she lifted her head. Tears were streaming from her eyes, and her face looked gaunt, her complexion pallid. Dark bruise-coloured hollows rested under her eyes – the sight was haunting. It was terrifying to see the usually "strong" Gryffindor in such a shocking state.

He wasn't one to be affected by others' emotions, but at the sight of his rival in pain, some sort of panic overtook him.

"Granger! Answer me! Are you hurt?"

She simply continued to weep. "Granger. Are you listening to me?" Still no answer. "Turn around." He ordered. She didn't move. "Merlin help me," he whispered under his breath, before swivelling her chair so he could see the back of her head. Her usually glossy curls were matted with blood, and he took a deep breath before parting them, revealing a deep gash and free flowing blood.

He swallowed, trying not to gag, and racked his brain for some sort of spell to close the wound. "_Vulnus Curare_" he muttered, and drew the tip of his wand across the injury. As it slowly closed on itself, he muttered another, "_Tergeo_", to clean the blood from her head. His mother's old eccentric obsession with healing did have its uses after all.

He quickly drew back as Hermione turned around, the first movement she'd made since he'd come near her. He stared into her eyes, still glistening with tears as she froze for a moment, before she ran out of the room.

Draco stared at his hands. They were covered in blood. Her blood.

**ooooo**

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She looked awful. Beyond awful. And she was unbelievably humiliated: sobbing like an emotional wreck in front of Draco Malfoy! Above all, she was confused.

Why had Malfoy healed her himself? He could have simply called for help…she shuddered. She'd have to face him sometime. She quickly splashed her face with cold water and muttered a spell to re-apply her make-up, trying to conceal the shadows beneath her eyes. After pinning her hair up, she glanced at herself one final time before striding out of the bathroom.

Time to face the music.

**ooooo**

He saw her walk in, all traces of what had happened only moments ago vanished. For some reason, it angered him.

"What. In Merlin's name. Was that, Granger?" he yelled.

"Leave it Malfoy."

"Oh, so you expect me to just sit here, after I pretty much saved you from your bloody death-bed, whilst you wailed like a banshee?"

"I said leave it." Her look was steely, the complete opposite of her appearance previously. It was disturbing.

"I demand an answer! Answer me, Granger!"

He didn't expect her to walk closer to him. By the time she spoke, they were almost nose to nose.

"Let me ask _you _something, Malfoy." She spoke. He could feel her breath warm against his own lips, such was their proximity, but he stood his ground. "When you came to me, about your wife, did I ask any unnecessary questions? Did I force you to tell me anything outside of business necessities? Did I insist you reveal details of your private life to me? No, No, and no once more. This will not affect our case, and I'd appreciate if you didn't mention these…circumstances to anyone. So once more, leave it, Malfoy." She stared up at him. He was aware of everything, he could hear the sound of her breathing, smell her scent – cinnamon, and parchment – and he could see the flecks of gold in her dark eyes. It was almost as though his own senses were in overdrive, but as he moved away, the gold dulled to brown once more and the world stopped spinning.

"Very well, Granger. I came to give you this."

**ooooo**

She breathed a sigh of relief as he dropped an object of her desk, and as she neared, she realised it was a flower.

"You brought me flowers, Malfoy?" she teased.

He laughed, weakly. "Don't flatter yourself."

Their playful banter had returned…but as much as she hated to admit it, she almost preferred the "intense" Draco Malfoy. When she'd stood in front of him, she'd felt her heart pace quicken at the sight of his steely grey eyes, and her answer to him shocked her. "Funny, Draco."

They both stopped in their tracks.

She'd just called him by his first name! First name! What in Godric's name had possessed her to do such a thing?

When she saw a wide smirk…or was it a smile?...spread over his features, her inner turmoil only increased.

"I think that a first-name basis would be appropriate considering our predicament. We cannot go around calling each other by last names any more, it would seem strange…_Hermione_." His grin increased in size as he made a show of exaggerating her name.

"Of course, _Draco_." She simpered. "So. Back to business. What _is_ this?" she lifted the flower, but after further inspection realised it was, in fact, a rose. A green rose.

"Mal – I mean Draco! You managed to get the rose!"

He nodded. "Indeed. So, hurry up and do your fancy charm-business so I can kick some arse already!"

She raised an eyebrow at his language. As she inspected the flower, she spoke. "I think that I won't waste time and I'll simply try the strongest reversal spell for this. It reveals the caster of any charm used to alter physical appearance…but I may damage it slightly. Alright with you?"

He nodded once more.

"Right. The name will appear, along with the charm used above the object…possibly in Latin. Ready?"

Another nod.

"_Manifesto triae!" _she outlined a circle around the rose, and traced what appeared to be words of some sort in the air, before pointing her wand at the rose.

Nothing happened.

Just as she was about to shrug in defeat, the rose burst into flames, and she dropped it, screeching. Only a second later, all that remained was a pile of green ash. She dropped to her knees.

"Damn it! It was obviously charmed to do that…Draco, will Astoria realise its gone?"

She watched him hesitate. "She's too stupid." His words contained obvious venom aimed at his wife. "But, Granger – Hermione – Is there no way we can find out who cast the charm on it?"

She hung her head. "I'm sorry."

But when she looked up, rather than looking disappointed, a smirk had once more found its way onto Draco's features.

**ooooo**

"No matter." He was strangely glad, inside. "I have another option."

"Huh?"

"Gr-Hermione, I overheard Astoria talking to _him, _and they are both attending a ball together."

"Continue." She prompted.

"They're going to a masquerade ball on Saturday, two weeks' time, at Hogwarts, 9pm."

"…yes?"

He shook his head in frustration. "Merlin, Grang – Merlin Hermione, I thought you were supposed to be smart! We can go to the ball! It's a _masquerade _ball! We won't even need disguises – I'll find out what Astoria is wearing, and we track her down with the son of a bitch who's with her, and we've got our man!"

He watched as realisation dawned on her features. "Genius!"

"So it's decided? We go to the ball?"

She nodded.

Only then did he realise what this implied.

He had a date with Hermione Granger.

**Dun dun DUUUUUN! It will be another couple of chapters until the ball... the next few are mostly fillers. Well, you know the drill. Review, and you'll have my undying gratitude :D People, we're almost at 100! Can we get past it? Please? With extra ice-cream and a cherry on top? **

**Tris xx **


	10. Chapter 10 - Paris

**Chapter 10 – Paris**

**Hello! Another chapter, because you wonderful people got me PAST 100 REVIEWS! Thank you all so, so much. You are...amazing.**

**A quick shout-out to Dramione Malfoy - a guest reviewer. Woah...I am so, so flattered. You want to translate Uncovered into CHINESE?! I don't know if you meant Mandarin, or Cantonese, or what...but that would be AMAZING. The thing is...you said that I should email you, but didn't give me an email address: if this was just some sort of practical joke, then I've got to say that's an absolutely horrible thing to do to someone. If you meant it, but actually forgot...then I'm going to feel like an idiot :P Please, please to contact me again...**

**Anyway. Enough of my chatter. Here it is, people! Enjoy!**

Hermione took a deep breath before knocking on the door; rather than flooing, she'd decided the muggle way would be more appropriate – and she needed to butter-up Ginny if she needed her help. Appearing in her living room and interrupting one of her eat-all-you-can-while-you're-pregnant-and-have-an- excuse sessions would NOT be helping her case.

She knew that Ginny would hate – no, detest – no, _loathe_ her reasons for turning to her for help, but Hermione couldn't shop for her life. Worse still, she couldn't clothes' shop for her life. And after Draco had left, it had hit her that she needed to buy a dress/gown/whatever-the-hell people wore to fancy events, which was where Ginny came in.

It wasn't actually necessary for her to buy something, because she could easily find a hand-me-down of some sort…but something inside of her made her want…or even need to impress Draco. She told herself that she wanted to show once and for all that muggle-borns were equally as good as purebloods, but deep down she knew the truth – she wanted his approval.

"Earth to Mione! Hellooo?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts by her red-headed friend's face practically nose-to-nose with her, and gesticulating wildly with her arms.

"Ginny! Sorry, I was just thinking about something…"

"Damn right you were. I've been standing here for about twenty minutes trying to get you to snap out of it!"

"Twenty minutes? Really?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Okay, maybe it was about ten."

"Uh huh?" she replied, sceptically.

"Five?" she smiled, hopefully

"No, Ginny, probably about two, knowing your knack for "stretching the truth"."

"Oh, alright smarty-pants, no need to be so snarky. Now are you coming in or not? Because I've got a bowl of strawberries and fudge waiting for me, and if you're nice…I might let you have a bit. Only a bit, mind. Now come on! Don't keep the heavily pregnant woman waiting!"

"I'm coming, keep your hair on!"

Ginny turned around. "Huh? My hair is on!"

Hermione smiled at her friend. Though she had improved, her lack of knowledge about muggle idioms was really quite endearing at times. "Muggle phrase." She said, by way of explanation.

"Ahh…okay. Come into the living room."

The pair made themselves comfortable before Ginny offered Hermione a ladle.

Yes. A ladle.

"Umm, Ginny…what's the ladle for?"

The red-head grinned. "This!" she yelled, and produced a huge bowl of fudge mixed with strawberries, filled to the brim. "We use the ladles to eat it, and…I have this too!" and she conjured up another bowl, this time filled with…prawns?

"Ah. Slight malfunction?" Hermione smiled knowingly.

"Nope!" and she scooped up a prawn using her ladle, covered it in fudge, added a strawberry and shoved the whole concoction into her mouth before chewing noisily. "I had a craving for seafood and sweet stuff the other day…and now I've made a whole range of different snacks!"

At Hermione's disbelieving look, she raised her hands defensively. "Being pregnant does that to you, ok?!" and she pushed Hermione playfully.

The sudden impact made Hermione topple over slightly, and as she fell to the ground, she heard a sudden pounding in her ears, and the room started to spin out of focus. She felt a throbbing at the back of her head, and prayed desperately that the wound hadn't suddenly opened up. A voice echoed somewhere far away:

"Mione? Are you alright? Mione!"

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the sickness disappeared again. She sat up weakly. "Um, yeah. Just a head rush." She lied. She didn't want to complicate matters between her family.

"If you're sure." Ginny said, giving her a concerned look.

"Yeah. I think your…interesting…snacks had a weird effect on me."

"Huh?"

"Disgusting things creep me out." She joked.

"Ha. Haha. Ha. Very funny. Just hilarious, let's all make fun of the pregnant-woman's cravings! Anyway Miss-I'm-The-Best, what made you barge into my home without being invited in the first place?"

Hermione swallowed. "I need your help."

**ooooo**

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!" Ginny bellowed.

"Please, please help me, Gin. I need you – I can't do this by myself."

"Mione, I TOLD you that I was against this "case" with that…monster…and now you're asking me to help you find a gown for him? No, wait, that came out wrong. You want me to help you find a gown to IMPRESS him?! I'd rather be trampled to death by a herd of hippogriffs!"

"No, Ginny." Hermione tried her final reason. Reason/lie. She was too desperate to feel guilty at the moment. "Ginny, I have to show him how much better I am than he is. You know, I need something classy, sexy, but that doesn't make it look like I've tried too hard because I HAVE to show him that I'm not the bookworm I was anymore. And that muggle-borns are just as good as purebloods! And I CAN'T do it without you!"

"I see…"

She gritted her teeth, ready to start the flattery, "and with your supreme fashion sense and knack for creating – "

"Shut up Mione. Flattery doesn't work on me – I live with Harry Potter for Merlin's sake!"

"So you'll do it?" she asked, hopefully.

Ginny grimaced. "Okay, Fine. But only because I love you and you're my best-friend. And don't even think about pulling something like this again! This is a one-off!"

"THANK YOU!" Hermione squealed, and launched herself at her friend.

"Get off, Mione!" Ginny laughed. "Wait for me to do my make-up, and then we can go."

"What – now?"

"Oh yes. And I've got just the place we can go to." She smirked.

Hermione sighed. "Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this?"

**ooooo**

Once the sensation of side-along apparition had subsided, Hermione looked around in shock.

"YOU BROUGHT ME TO FRANCE?!"

Ginny brought her face closed to hers, about as close to being menacing as a pregnant-woman could get. "Paris, to be specific. Now you look here, missy. You made me do this, so while I'm helping you, we go by my rules. Get it it?

"Got it."

"Good." Then, suddenly, all sunshine-and-smiles again, she squealed, "So let's gooo!" and dragged Hermione to the closest boutique.

**ooooo**

Three hours later, and she was staring, breathless, at her reflection in the mirror at "Belle's Boutique".

"It's gorgeous." she breathed.

The sales assistant nodded approvingly as Hermione twirled and Ginny squealed. After what had seemed like endless hours of painstakingly looking for the "perfect" dress – and the bloody shoes to match, as Ginny had insisted – she was finally happy. Overjoyed, actually.

They'd picked out a midnight blue gown; the bodice made of chiffon, and fitted until the waist with a striking halter-neck finish. From the waist, it loosened slightly and two overlapping layers of material dropped straight down until her ankles, so when she walked the light filtered through them, creating a dappled effect. A slit up the left side showed the perfect amount of leg – sexy, but still classy, and paired with some edgy black peep-toe pumps, she looked and felt gorgeous.

Vain much? She smiled to herself.

"Mioneeee! It's perfect! I lovelovelove it! Ooh, you bitch, stop twirling, you're just rubbing in the fact that I'm too fat to fit into a decent dress!" Ginny shrieked.

Hermione turned to her and smiled.

"You know what? I was worried when you dragged me to Paris, but now I'm unbelievably grateful…thank you so much Gin!" she hugged her friend.

Ginny held her by the shoulders for one last inspection.

"You're gonna knock 'em dead!"

**Righto. I've just got to say, this was only a filler...just a bit of fun, really. Some drama coming up soon, though! I'd love to hear your feedback...and around 113 reviews an I'll post another chapter.**

***update: as requested by MemoirsofaLostCause, her's a link to what Hermione's gown might look like... to be honest, it was difficult tp find the exact design I'd emagined, and the colour of this is wayy too light, but it's the closest to the dress I could find. Oh well!***

** . /search?lr=&hl=en&q=chiffon%20midnight%20blue%20gown&biw=1241&bih=593&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Cx7sUf6oHoPEOZyGgeAE#um=1&lr=&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=chiffon+blue+gown+halter&oq=chiffon+blue+gown+halter&gs_l=img.3...26393.29862.0.30...0.0..1c.1. .RiBS4AyH9jk&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.49478099% % . _US.c75bKy5EQ0A.O&fp=524bebb04d7d33e3&biw=1241&bih=593&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=zmUI-bvron3eCM%3A%3BvMfzu-a0U7n7cM%3Bhttp%253A%252 F% %252Fimages%252F201305%252Fsource_img%252FAdorable _Sequined_Halter_Top_Royal_Blue_Chiffon_Slit_Floor _Length_Sheath_Prom_Gown_WPD6218_original_img_1368 6095068042_6218_.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F% % %3B900%3B1200**

**Yeah, it's a long link :P **

**Tris xx**


	11. Chapter 11 - Fist

**Chapter 11 – Fist**

**Hi everyone...sorry, I should have posted this a bit earlier, but I was out for the day. Thank you all for your lovely reviews about the last chapter - and to the reviewer "Anonymous" I hope that this chapter explains a little more about Hermione's thoughts on the incident with Ron. Hope you like this one... :)**

Two weeks since she'd bought the dress for the ball with Ginny, and Hermione felt like life simply couldn't get any better. She'd been exchanging letters with Rose on a daily basis, and hearing about her daughter's endeavours at Hogwarts almost made her feel as though she was back there herself. The case with Draco was moving slowly but surely forward, and when Ron had turned up two days after the…incident, she'd been only too happy to have him back as he did truly seem sorry that he'd hurt her. According to his pleas, he hadn't even realised that she was injured, and Hermione didn't want a confrontation – to be frank, she just wanted to pretend it had never happened. Harry and Ginny still knew nothing about what had happened, and she hoped to keep it that way. Though her marriage to Ron seemed to have taken a turn towards an almost stilted arrangement, it wasn't much worse than previously and at least now they had both acknowledged some of their mistakes and were trying to move on.

Not that she'd ever forget.

Still, she couldn't help but hum happily to herself as she changed out of her suit into some more suitable clothing for the Three Broomsticks. She and Ginny were meeting their husbands there, for some much needed time together like they had when they were back in school. Just as she was swiping on some lipstick, an ear-piercing shriek rang out through the entire house.

"MIIIIIONE! GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE ALREADY! I'M HUNGRY, AND I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO FINISH PREENING YOURSELF FOR ABOUT HALF AN HOUR NOW!"

In her shock, her arm jerked upwards, sending a line of scarlet sprawling across her cheek. Trust the fat pregnant woman to ruin things.

"Five minutes, Gin, you've been waiting for five!" she yelled, equally loudly.

"DON'T YOU ARGUE WTH ME, HERMIONE JEAN WEASLEY!" Ginny bellowed, and she heard the stairs begin to shake as she thundered up to her bedroom.

She hurriedly wiped the lipstick off her face, and grabbed her handbag just in time before Ginny burst through the doorway and grabbed her arm, giving her no other choice but to deal with side-along apparition.

**ooooo**

As soon as they'd touched the ground, Hermione bent over the pavement, stomach lurching.

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen." Ginny snapped, "Now come ON!" and she grasped her arm in a vice-like grip, dragging her down the road.

As soon as they'd entered their "destination", Harry jumped up from the table where he and Ron were sitting with butterbeers, and quite literally swept Ginny into his arms. Within seconds they were – to put it eloquently – making out, much to the amusement of Madam Rosmerta, and the disgust of Ron. As he shielded his eyes, she couldn't help but laugh at his put-out expression.

"Woah, major PDA! Back off guys, it's not the end of the world!" she laughed. When they made no indication they had heard her, she had to try to prise them apart, but the attempt was futile. Ron approached the three of them at the doorway, and in one of their rare moments of understanding, they each shot each other mischievous grins. Time for drastic action.

At the same time they both acted, but when Hermione began to tickle Ginny – making the red-head's entire body convulse with giggles – and expected Ron to do the same, she was shocked when instead, he kicked his friend…where the "sun-don't-shine".

He stood back, looking pleased with himself as Harry collapsed to the ground, groaning.

"WHAT THE HELL?! Have you completely lost it?" he yelled, between groans.

"Mate, I told you not to mess with my sister, and that there'd be consequences if you ignored me."

"THAT WAS MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO!" both Hermione and Ginny yelled simultaneously.

"Meh." Ron shrugged. "You know what they say. Revenge has no boundaries."

**ooooo**

Fifteen minutes later, and they were seated at a table, an ice-pack gripped between Harry's legs, and the two men glowering at each other between snippets of conversation. The once-empty tavern was almost spilling over with people now, as once people had heard that the "Golden Trio plus one" were in town, a hoard of wizards and witches had run to grab a seat in the same room as them, much to Madam Rosmerta's delight and their dismay.

The atmosphere visibly tensed, however, when one brave teenage witch approached Ron, and asked to speak to him privately. When she'd dragged him a distance away from the table, begun to wave her arms about, the movements were so vigorous that her bleach-blonde ponytail had started to swing violently, and her muggle shorts shifted even higher up her legs, much to the delight of most of the male members in the prying crowd. Thrusting a copy of the "Daily Prophet" under Ron's nose, within seconds his face had turned thunderous, and he'd stormed back over to the table. Judging from the smug expression the girl now wore, and the glare she shot Hermione, she guessed that what was about to happen wasn't going to be good.

At all.

**ooooo**

"What," Ron began, "is the meaning of this?" he asked, dangerously quiet. His lowered tone only meant trouble – when Ron was upset, he sulked, when he was angry, he yelled, but when he was livid, his tone became perilously low. He slid the copy of the newspaper across the table, and when Hermione saw the picture at the front, it took all of her self-control not to collapse.

The image showed Draco whispering something to her, which must have amused her because seconds later she burst out laughing. Over, and over the scene played, taunting her and the headline only made matters worse:

**TROUBLE IN OUR WAR HEROS' PARADISE? FORMER GRANGER SEEN WITH EX-SLYTHERIN ENEMY!**

She should have known – trust Skeeter to bend a business meeting into a romantic rendezvous. She quickly scanned the article.

_We've all heard of the two golden couples, our supposed "saviours" from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: Harry and Ginevra Potter, and Ronald and Hermione Weasley. But when the latter seem to be going through tough times in their relationship, we have to say we were more than shocked to find the former Miss Granger turning to the ex-Slytherin Prince – Draco Malfoy himself – with whom she had a supposed hatred of during school years._

_Our sources tell us Mr Malfoy – also married to a Mrs Astoria Malfoy (formerly Greengrass) – repeatedly insulted Mrs Weasley's blood status when they attended Hogwarts, usually calling her a "mudblood". However, circumstances have certainly changed, as we saw him cosy-ing up to Mrs Weasley no less than two weeks ago – not so "impure" now, is she "Draco"? Witnesses also heard Mr Malfoy mentioning "Granger and Potters' endeavours" during school. Is it true that the supposed "best friends" were actually romantically involved behind young Ronald's back?_

_We can confirm that Mr Weasley was also seen storming out of their family home on the same day…the couple currently have one daughter, but is the future looking bleak for young Rose's parents? _

_~ Rita Skeeter_

It was disgusting. And to think that people actually believed what that _witch _wrote. She'd almost forgotten that the lies that possibly the entire Wizarding World were lapping up were about herself; it was like having an out-of-body experience. Only when she felt sharp slap on her cheek did she snap out of it. Her head jerked upwards.

"Ron! What the hell is wrong with you?" she heard Ginny scream.

So he'd hit her. Again.

"I want answers." He growled, and lunged towards her again, completely oblivious that they were in public.

"Leave off, Ron! Give Hermione a chance to explain!" Ginny tried to push forward.

"Woah, Ginny, don't even think about it!" Harry hauled her back, but as gently as possible. "Mate, calm down!" he tried to placate Ron, but received a fist in the face for his efforts.

Harry spat blood onto the tablecloth, before turning slowly to face Ron again. "Twice in one night, Ron. What the hell is wrong with you - "

"That's it!" Ginny screamed, before launching herself at her brother, but she was slow, and Ron shoved her hard into a table before advancing towards Hermione.

"So you and Malfoy, huh? After everything I've done for you, you go and throw yourself at that Death Eater? What is WRONG with you?!" he gripped her arm, nails digging in.

"Ron! Let go! You're hurting me!"

He only dug his nails in further. "What. Does. This. Mean?" he hissed, pushing his face right up to hers. She could see the flecks of spittle gathering in the corners of his mouth.

"It's business, Ron! You can't believe anything Skeeter says! Malfoy has approached us for a case!"

"Let me get this straight. You cheated on me with Harry in school - "

"NO!"

"SHUT UP!" he bellowed. "You cheated on me, and now you're helping Malfoy?"

She cowered away, expecting another blow, but instead felt her arm being released.

"I'm ashamed to call you my wife. I expect to see you home in half an hour." And he turned to stride away, pushing away the crowd who had gathered as he went.

She couldn't stop her body from trembling with shock, and only then realised that she wasn't the only one who had been hurt.

"Ginny!" she cried out, running over to where she was slumped by a table.

"Mione." She whispered, looking up.

"I think the baby's coming."

**Heehee. Sorry, I hate Ron as always, but the ending of this sounds so much more dramatic than what actually happens later. Oh well :P As usual, please take the time to review as it's ALWAYS appreciated...and at about 125 I'll update. Love you all,**

**Tris xx**


	12. Chapter 12 - Ready

**Chapter 12 – Ready**

**Hi everyone :) Another update because I love you all :P Ok, I just wanted to quickly say that I've recieved quite a few reviews with people saying it's annoying when I ask them to comment, and at a cetain number of reviews I'll update. I do appreciate that you may find it irritating, but I'm not going to stop because I find the system works for me. So tough :P Oh, and can I also say that insulting someone and swearing at them in a guest review is just immature and cowardly. Grow up.**

**Buuut, on a happier note...I've got an idea for a COMPETITION! Heehee. Read the AN at the end of this chapter to find out more...**

"Mione?"

"I'm coming, Gin!"

She bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time, cringing at the sight of Ginny lying on her bed, still looking no better - but she'd managed a small smile directed at her.

"It's time for you to get ready."

"But Ginnyyy! I've still got a couple of hours to go!"

"Ow!" Ginny doubled over, clutching the covers over her legs, "Mione! It hurts!"

"Oh, Merlin help us, not again! Is there anything I can do?"

Ginny straightened up, smiling once more. "You could start getting ready!"

"You evil little - "

"Mione! I'm pregnant, and" she paused, "hurt." Before continuing. "So you should do what you can to make me feel better."

After their lunch-gone-wrong two days earlier, Ginny had been rushed to St Mungo's in fear of shock-induced-labour, but luckily the baby wouldn't be premature and she was only experiencing the "false alarm" contractions which often happened closer to the time of birth. But to think that the woman lying almost unable to move on her bed was dragging her to lunch only a few days ago was worrying – and she hated her husband for it.

For Rose's sake she hadn't told her about what Ron had done, and she assumed that she hadn't seen the edition of the Daily Prophet because she hadn't received a letter with Rose freaking out…it seemed suspiciously like the work of Minerva McGonagall…

So here she was, housing a pregnant woman – since Harry couldn't take care of a teaspoon, let alone an invalid – desperately trying to stay away from her husband and accompanying her school nemesis to a masked ball which her best friend was insisting she prepared for hours in advance before Draco picked her up. Oh, and she happened to be stalking his wife. Messed up?

She thought so.

**ooooo**

"Ow, ow, ow, OW! STOP PULLING!" she screeched, pulling at the bathrobe wrapped around her to try and release some of the pain she was feeling.

The sharp tugging relented for a second. "No. I need to pull for your hair to look good, and you want it to look good, don't you?" Ginny replied.

"NO!"

She tutted. "Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet." And she picked up her wand, flicked it, and the pulling started again.

Hermione breathed in deeply. She could still smell some of the jasmine from the bath Ginny had insisted she took – at the moment, its supposed "calming" effect really wasn't working; she was still TERRIFIED about going out with Draco. He was coming in less than an hour, which meant that at 9pm they would be together in the same building – where she may run into her daughter. The butterflies turned into a tornado in her stomach.

"There! Done!" Ok, now quick, put the dress on."

"Turn around, Ginny."

"No, I need to see how you look."

"Naked?!"

"Well, it might make me feel better about my size."

"Are you saying that I'm fat?"

Silence.

"For the love of Merlin woman – "

"No! Just kidding! Honestly, Mione, just do what I say."

"Fine. Only because I know you won't leave me alone."

She slowly undressed, and as she pulled the robe off her shoulders she felt a sudden tingling and saw Ginny's lips moving, silently. She looked down at her arms, to see that her skin was shimmering, covered with what seemed like a sheen of blue to silver, and back to blue again. It was actually beautiful.

"Ginny! What did you do?"

"Just a party trick I picked up. Strippers really do know it all."

"You've got to be joking."

"Yep. Gotcha again." And she grinned, before hugging her awkwardly from her position on the bed.

"Umm…Ginny."

"Yep?"

"I'm naked."

**ooooo**

Half an hour later, and she was finally dressed. It was amazing how different a change of clothes could make her feel…she was never one to care about appearances, but the way the material seemed to float off her shoulders actually made her feel special. She shook her head. No use acting all sappy – she couldn't let her thoughts deviate away from the case.

Just then she heard the doorbell ring. Ginny glanced at her, eyes wide from her resumed position in bed, and waved her arms about frantically.

"Yes, I get it! I'll get the door, ok?" Hermione hissed.

"NOO!" Ginny half whispered, half screamed. "Don't go!" and she waved her hands in front of her face.

"Why not?! Dra – Malfoy is waiting!" she quickly corrected her mistake. It wouldn't help for Ginny to know they were on a first-name basis; she turned again. "I promise you'll be fine. Luna said she'd be here soon. And you can send a Patronus if something goes wrong. Ginny, I have to go!"

The doorbell rang again. Insistently.

"No! Mione!"

"WHAT?!"

"We forgot the mask!"

**ooooo**

Five minutes later, and she'd managed to charm a sleep mask to appear sliver, with flecks of midnight blue and the shape now resembled one of a Vietnamese porcelain mask. Two midnight blue feathers fanned out from the corner, and Ginny had grabbed a piece of floss from the bathroom to tie around the back.

The doorbell rang. Again.

"Ok, Mione, that looks fine. I've charmed your notes on the case to fit into your bag," she handed her a miniature clutch, "and you've got the extendable ears if you really need them. NOW RUN!"

Hermione quickly hugged Ginny, before running down the stairs. "Ok! Thanks Gin! Call for me if something happens!"

"Yeah!" Ginny shouted back. "Good luck!"

Hermione stopped at the door, where she could see the silhouette of a man through the frosted glass.

"I'm gonna need it."

**ooooo**

Draco heard the click of the lock as the front door finally swung open. He'd been standing outside for at least ten minutes…Merlin knew what the hell Hermione was doing in there, but it better have been worth the wait. He could have simply apparated inside…but even he knew not to mess with a "ticked-off Granger". Hogwarts had the pleasure of teaching him that.

"Granger, what in Salazar's name took you so – " he stopped speaking, quite literally gobsmacked.

Hermione stood in front of him, looking down at her feet shyly, playing with the hem of her dress. She looked unlike anything she'd ever seen before – almost ethereal. Her hair was pinned back, with a few glossy honey-coloured curls hanging loose, and she'd paired her midnight blue ensemble with simple silver earrings and a small chain. Uncomplicated, but stunning. It felt beyond strange to say – _think_ – that she looked beautiful, but he couldn't deny it.

"I – I – was just…Well. You took your time, didn't you?" he muttered.

"Sorry. Complications. Got your mask?"

He lifted a strip of silver, with slits to see through, just enough to cover his eyes so he wasn't distinguishable, and quickly strapped it on. He wasn't a Malfoy without his impeccable dress-style, and paired with a black shirt and trousers – muggle style, he had to admit – it was unarguable that he and Hermione would look good together.

"And you're sure Astoria's there?"

He nodded. "I saw her leave. She thinks I'm working late with Miles –deputy head of my company." He said, by way of explanation.

"Okay. Ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

**And so we finally have the ball scene next! This is where the competition comes in:**

**So, because we've had a few chapters leading up to this and I've always thought it was really cool when authors make up competitiony-thingies for their reviewers, I've come up with an idea of my own. The next chapter is obviously an important one at Hogwarts, and I'd like any of ****_you _****followers who are interested to write your own chapter for it - with what you think will or should happen. It can be any length you want, and absolutely crazy or completely normal. To enter, simply post the chapter on your account saying it's for a competition in the summary, and drop me a quick review with a link to it. Simple! Just a bit of fun, really, but if you WIN...I'll dedicate the next chapter to you, and you'll have your interpretation of the scene posted on my account alongside my version. The deadline will be Friday 26th July, 3pm...it's not long, so get writing!**

**Good luck!**

**Tris xx**


	13. Chapter 13 - Dance

**Chapter 13 - Dance**

**Hi everyone! I've missed you all :P WOW! TWO ENTRIES! THAT'S AMAZING! (sarcasm, my dears :P) Well, thank you so much to the two people who did enter. I loved reading your entries...and I thought that because there were only two of you, I'd post the both! :D**

**So, the first one. This is Virg0Luck's entry. She actually knew what happens later in the story, so it was really hard for her not to give to much away...**

Malfoy- _Draco_, she corrected in her head- had found out more about the masquerade, and he had explained that the wards were temporarily taken off Hogwarts for people to Floo or Apparate in. They were going to apparate, obviously; it would be a disaster if she got soot all over herself, and it would completely defeat the purpose of Ginny dressing her up.

Not that she cared what she looked like in front of him. No, it wasn't that. The butterflies in her tummy were _definitely _nothing to do with him. Nope. It was because she was afraid of… Rose spotting her. That was it. Completely.

_Whatever gets you through the day, Hermione… _that annoying voice in her head spoke up.

"Shut up!" she said aloud.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, amusement playing around his lips.

"Oh… nothing."

They fell into silence again.

_Face it, you know it's true…_

"If you don't SHUT UP NOW-"

"Granger?"

"Back to last names, _Malfoy?" _she asked, emphasizing her use of his last name.

"Not intentionally- I'm just used to it."

"I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to respond to that…" she tried.

He smirked.

"Don't do that!" she warned.

"Why? Distracted?"

"No!" she spluttered. "It's just- you're wearing a silver mask and you're smirking. You can _totally _tell it's you."

"Point taken."

"Umm… Draco?"

"Yes?"

"We've been standing outside for the past ten minutes and Ginny is smirking at me through the window. Can we leave?"

**OOOOO**

The Great Hall was unrecognizable. Similar to the Yule Ball, but still different. The ceiling, as usual, showed the sky outside; it was a clear night, and the stars shone brightly. The walls were covered in a light blue, but the kind that wasn't sickly. Not baby blue. It shimmered with the light.

And… she could have gone on forever, but she was interrupted.

"Granger, can I remind you that you're here for a reason?"

Draco had decided that it was best to pretend she was having no effect on him. _That _would hardly work. Although he had to admit, she looked amazing. Very. The dark blue of the dress complimented her creamy skin _very _nicely.

Enough of this off- topic mush. There was no chance anyway.

No chance of what? He didn't like her. She was irritating. She was flustered. She was a pain.

She was beautiful.

"Care to dance?"

The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. Even through his mortification, he found her reaction amusing.

"I'm sorry?" she stammered.

"I said, care to dance? Standing in a corner will hardly help us find them."

"…Okay."

That was easier than expected. He lead her onto the floor and began leading her effortlessly; of course he knew how to dance well. He'd been having lessons since he was a toddler.

"Keep an eye out." He murmured. "Knowing her, she'll be wearing green. I'm guessing he'll be in black."

"Okay."

"Is that all you can say, Granger?"

She flushed.

Draco looked around. He couldn't see anyone yet…

"Granger." He whispered urgently. "There."

They stopped dancing. He grabbed her hand, ignoring the spark- no, no, no distractions- and began leading her off, focusing on the pair near the back. The woman… she was holding a green rose.

**OOOOO**

Hermione knew exactly what he had seen and was moving with just as much urgency. Unfortunately, she didn't have the grace that seemed to be second nature to him, and stumbled into a girl, knocking her mask off and the girl herself onto the floor, tearing her away from her partner, forcing them to stop and Hermione to look at the girl-

"Rose?!" she gasped.

It was her daughter. Standing next to-

No way in hell was that who she thought it was.

**Pretty amazing, huh? I love this so, so much. There was a bit of confusion with the whole rose business, but it's still...awesome. Virg0Luck also recently posted chapter 11 of her amazing new fic: "Insanity". It's brilliant, please go read and review it!**

**This next one is by Victory Goddess. It's also...indescribable. Enjoy!**

Draco and Hermione arrived at the ball. Before entering they both put on their masks.

Draco felt a pang of emotions when he looked at Hermione. It was a strange feeling; a feeling he never had with Astoria.

Was it love?

_No, _Draco thought, _this is ridiculous; she's a mud-muggle born and I'm a Pureblood; I was a follower of the Dark Lord and she was a hero; we're damn opposites…_

"Are you alright Draco?" Hermione asked with concern.

The way she sad his name showed true concern unlike Astoria's cold shudder.

"I'm fine," he answered.

Hermione eyed her 'date' with suspicion.

_He's thinking about something but what is it? _She thought, _I hope he's alright._

The couple walked inside the ballroom.

The room was splendid and magnificently done as if it was brought back to life.

Slow dancing music was on and couples were dancing on the marble floor. Much to Hermione's annoyance there were house elves serving food to everyone.

"Let's find Astoria," Draco whispered in Hermione's ear.

She felt a tingle.

_Stop it, _Hermione scolded herself, _he doesn't like you in that way._

Away from the dance floor were a couple of witches and wizards talking to each other. Others were scoffing Butterbeer and laughing at each other.

Draco looked around the enormous ballroom. He felt a pang of panic because he couldn't see Astoria.

Hermione looked around as well.

"Hermione?" Draco asked.

The way he said her name brought shivers to her spine.

"Yes."

"Can you see her?" Draco questioned, "she's wearing a dark green dress with a halter top. The mask that she's wearing is light green with green feathers on the side. It's those masks that you hold up."

Hermione couldn't see Astoria anywhere of that description.

"I can't see her. I'm going to get a drink," Hermione answered.

Draco nodded before walking in another direction. Hermione walked to the drinks stand.

He stood around and leaned against a wall.

"You look lost," a male voice commented.

"Maybe I am," Draco stated as he turned to face the person who spoke to him.

The wizard was taller than Draco himself. He was completely clad in black with a black domino mask. His brown hair was perfectly neat.

He was twirling a cup of Butterbeer in his hand.

The wizard sighed.

"What in Merlin's beard is bothering you?"

"I think I like my _co-worker…" _Draco's voice echoed out.

"Is she smart?" The wizard asked.

"Very."

"Is she pretty?"

"Absolutely beautiful."

"Is she dating?"

"Let's not go that far," Draco said.

Another slow song started.

"Let's see who's dancing?" The wizard asked.

Draco sighed with no interest in the dance but maybe Astoria was there.

* * *

Hermione was battling her emotions and thoughts. Malf-Draco wasn't even that bad; why was Ron so worried?

He definitely matured from their time at Hogwarts and the way that he was concerned about his wife cheating on him proved that he did have a heart and that he did care. Hermione grabbed a glass of water.

Hermione felt overwhelmed by her emotions. She cringed as she realised it.

She cared so much.

She felt nervous.

She called him by his first name.

She kept thinking about him.

She was concerned for him.

Hermione Jean Weasley, might as well be Granger, was in love with Draco Malfoy.

She could no longer deny it in her minBuber there was no way that she could tell him.

* * *

The wizard and Draco walked to the dance floor where a crowd of witches and wizards stood at the front.

"We need two volunteers to dance on the floor. Anyone?" The ball announcer asked.

No one budged.

"Is that your co-worker over there?" The wizard whispered in Draco's ear, pointing to the right where they could see Hermione coming over.

Draco couldn't answer.

The wizard smirked. The priceless look on Draco Malfoy's face told it all.

"See you around…Malfoy," the wizard whispered.

Draco turned around to where the wizard was seconds ago and saw that he disappeared.

"Have you found Astoria?" Hermione asked, "I couldn't find her."

"Don't worry; I didn't find her either."

Suddenly, Hermione felt herself being pushed by someone to the front. She was on the dance floor.

"Well then," the announcer smiled, "we have our witch but where's-"

Suddenly Draco was pushed to the front.

"Well then," the announcer was puzzled by the volunteering, "let's begin."

A sweet and blissful song began to play.

"Play along," Draco whispered.

Hermione nodded.

The two bowed down to each other respectively.

Draco offered his hand to Hermione. Hermione took it; she felt very nervous; she wasn't the best dancer.

Draco then looked out at the audience. He saw the wizard from earlier who smirked at him.

_Oh Merlin I wish I could hex him, _Draco thought.

The wizard smiled and then disappeared. No one seemed to notice anything; it was as if he was invisible and that Draco only knew he existed.

He probably Apparated.

Hermione stared at him but then he made eye contact with her and suddenly held hands.

_Something's definitely on his mind, _Hermione thought by judging the way he was deep in thought and how he looked away.

They began to waltz on the floor. It was slow and a little awkward especially the way he stared at her eyes.

This was unexpected. From their positions both kept a look out for Astoria and her lover.

They slowly went faster. Hermione proved quick on her feet. Her heels smoothly touched the floor.

They swung from side to side.

They abruptly stopped and Draco held his arm up higher as Hermione twirled quite fast underneath. She stopped at a perfect pace.

Draco still held her hand and leaned downwards. Hermione then leant downwards.

It was eye to eye. It was more awkward because there was an audience of witches, wizards and even house elves watching.

"Who are they?" A wizard whispered.

"I'be never seen such smooth and willing dancers," a witch told her companion.

Draco smiled; it was one of his cool wry smiles.

"They're talking about us," he whispered to her.

The music slowly halted.

"We can't stay in this position," Hermione reminded him.

"Right."

Draco then leant down and kissed her on the lips.

"Aww," came a chorus of witches from the audience.

The song stopped.

Draco and Hermione then stood up and bowed to the audience and left the dance floor.

When Draco and Hermione arrived at the drinks area they began to talk to each other.

"You were quite good for an audience watching," Draco smirked.

"I'm not that bad Malf-Draco," she corrected.

He smiled.

Some things never changed.

A bunch of wizards and witches were talking to each other. They suddenly walked away.

In their places there was a witch in a dark green halter dress. She had her mask off with her long brown silky hair tumbling over her shoulders. She was talking to a wizard who had his back to Draco. He was taller than the witch.

When Draco saw the green dress and the witch's face he realised it was Astoria and the wizard talking to her then kissed her on the lips.

It was Astoria and her lover.

***GASP* Pretty good, huh? See why I couldn't choose between them? I love how different the two approaches were - please go and check out Victory Goddess' profile too! She's got some wonderful stories on there...**

**Thank you, again, to both of you. Hugs and kisses from me :) Well, people. Here's my version! Hope it reached your expectations...**

After a quick nod of conformation, the pair apparated – separately, of course – outside Hogwarts. Again, Hermione landed somewhat ungracefully, tripping as she touched the ground, but realised as she put her arms out to break her fall that her attempt was in fact, futile. Why? Because she wasn't falling any more.

And why wasn't she falling anymore?

Because she was in the arms of Draco Malfoy.

It was ironic that they were at a ball, surrounded by party-goers in a position that so much resembled a romantic drop, where in fact she was being saved from possibly breaking her arm – whilst she was looking into his eyes, nevertheless.

She quickly pulled herself up, brushing invisible specks of dust from her dress so as to have something to do.

"Um, thanks, Malfoy." She muttered, and started walking towards the entrance. "Come on. We can't apparate inside the barrier; we'll have to follow everyone else." But Draco remained where he was, staring into the space where he'd held her only seconds ago.

**ooooo**

_He was happier than he thought he could be._

_"Come on, darling." Astoria whispered in his ear, then sauntered forward, turning over her shoulder only to wink at him, and beckon him forward. He followed, like he had no control over his movements, and could only stare, mesmerised by her hips swaying rhythmically: left, right, left, right. She looked stunning tonight. Drop dead gorgeous. And with the high slit playing up the left side of her unblemished white gown, and that endless leg showing, he wasn't surprised at the envious glares he was receiving._

_But he only had eyes for her._

_Suddenly, she stopped walking, right in the middle of the dance floor, and he found himself pressed up against her back, hands resting on her hips._

_"Will you get us some champagne?" she drawled, without turning around, so he was breathing in the scent of her hair, and could feel the feathers of her mask tickling his ear._

_"I – I – "_

_"I'll take that as a yes." She said, then moved away and began slowly dancing amongst the other couples. She was mesmerising, wrists twisting slowly, oblivious to the stares she received._

_And as he walked to the refreshments' table, only one thought played over, and over in his mind:_

_"I want her."_

**ooooo**

They were surrounded by people – it didn't help his claustrophobia in the slightest. But when he focused on Hermione's confident movements through the crowd, he found himself calmed significantly. Suddenly, she stopped, and he found himself leaning over her shoulder. She quickly turned around, and hastily put some distance between them.

"Draco, I just realised."

"Yes?" he prompted, breathing deeply to hide the discomfort he felt.

"How will we find Astoria? Masked ball? We won't be able to see her properly…Merlin, she could be her, over there!" Hermione pointed at a witch not far away, in a neon-pink ensemble – receiving a glare for her actions. It almost made him laugh.

Almost.

"It's fine. I already checked, she was dim enough to leave a dress in the cupboard – white gown, slit above one leg." He recited.

"But surely she has more than one gown! She could be wearing anything!" she exclaimed.

"No, I'm certain."

"How?" she pressed, persistent as ever.

"Because there was a feathered mask draped over it. And a label attached."

"Which said?"

He swallowed. _"For him."_

**ooooo**

She inhaled sharply. Merlin, she could only imagine what he was feeling at the moment.

"I see." She chose her words carefully. "So we're looking for a white gown, feathered mask? And obviously… male companion."

He nodded for conformation.

She didn't know what to say next – the tension was thicker than ever. Uncomfortable position to say the least.

"Alright, then!" she suddenly beamed, overenthusiastically. "Let's go!" and she turned and bounded towards the edge of the Great Hall, where the crowd was more sparsely distributed. She could only assume he was following – but her thoughts were interrupted when she caught sight of a familiar set of red curls right by the door to the inside of Hogwarts. She stepped closer. The person was with someone. Tall, slim – his build was familiar too.

"I know!" the girl shouted, excitedly, pulling on the boy's arm.

She knew that action. It had been done to her many times before.

"Rose?" she asked, confused. "Is that you?"

The girl stopped her conversation, and turned slowly towards her. Her face too, was hidden: by a turquoise mask.

"Um, no? I mean, no. You've got the wrong person." She said hurriedly, and turned away, grabbing the boy's arm and fleeing before she could say anything else.

Strange.

She'd make a note to owl her daughter later. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, the warmth travelling down her arm. She turned, to find herself face-to-face with Draco, again. He quickly withdrew his arm.

"Wondering where you'd gotten to. You disappeared. Shall we go?" he indicated the dance floor in the centre of the room. "Astoria loves to be the star of the show." He spat out, bitter all of a sudden.

She nodded, and he offered her his arm.

She froze. Why? They weren't a couple, were they?

"We don't want to stand out." He explained, then held out his arm, again. "Shall we?"

She smiled, weakly, a shadow of her earlier grins exchanged with him. "We shall."

**ooooo**

They found themselves on the edge of the dance floor, peering into the crowd.

"I can't see her!" she hissed, frustrated.

"Impatient, are we?" he was mocking her again. Strangely, she preferred him when he joked compared to the sombre character he behaved like only minutes earlier.

"Shut up – " she stopped talking, and dragged Draco further into the spinning couples, a sea of colours, feathers, and sequins. "I can see something!"

"Yes?" Draco asked.

"Dammit! I can't see properly over the crowd!" she said, as she caught another glimpse of white, when suddenly she felt strangely weightless. Looking down, she saw Draco had lifted her into the air, his hands at her waist, suspiciously like a lift from some sort of ballet performance.

"WHAT the HELL are you doing?" she hissed.

"Hurry up! Can you see her?" he asked, urgently.

She gave up, and peered over the crowd from her bird's-eye view. And there she was, Astoria, in all her cheating-glory. But where was her lover?

She was turning, slowly, waving her arms hypnotically in the middle of the crowd – quite the sight in her striking white dress. There seemed to be no-one escorting her, but it HAD to be her; she had a feathered mask matching Draco's description exactly.

"Draco, I can see her, but I can't see him!" she shouted down to him, struggling to be heard over the music. A second later, she'd thudded to the ground as he lowered her roughly.

"What do you mean?" he gripped her arm, urgently looking into her eyes. But she had no time to reply, before they were swept into the mass of swaying bodies.

**ooooo**

Draco could only move with the crowd as they were drawn further in amongst the dancers. One moment they were talking, and the next they had been pulled in and were dancing. It had seemed that the answer she should have given him had…died on her tongue. Not that he cared.

They were speechless, slowly swaying, but pressed up against each other. It felt that within the chaos of the dance, they were right in the centre – the eye of the tornado, if you were one for poetry. And in their frozen moment in time, there seemed to be a surge of electricity every time she moved against him. She wasn't smiling, only staring into his eyes, and he stared straight back, He was falling, falling into those honey-coloured pools drawing him in. She was beautiful. And as a stray curl fell from her clip, he could only reach up and brush it away from her face, catching sight of her lips as he did so. And they were perfect. Unsmiling, but beautiful, he thought again; not a hint of lipstick – natural beauty, like she was. And they were parted slightly.

He could only do one thing.

He leaned in, and kissed her.

**DUN DUN DUN! He kissed her! What will Hermione's reaction be...? I've got to warn you, there won't be much about why "Rose" was at the ball, but in a few chapters' time, you will find out. Patience, my dears. Well, hope you enjoyed it. I'd love to hear your thoughts - can I ask for 145 reviews? That would be amazing.**

**Tris xx**


	14. Chapter 14 - Crystal

**Chapter 14 – Crystal**

**WOW! 150 reviews! Thank you all so much! Well, as promised, here's another update - but first, a couple of questions to answer:**

**Lots of people were confused by the last chapter...guys, READ THE ANs! So, there was a competition to write chapter 13, but only the LAST version was what actually happened.**

**Also, so far I think Uncovered is 24 chapters - including an epilogue. Just for those of you wondering :D**

**Well...hope you guys like this one!**

She awoke, a dull ache travelling up her left arm. At a glance, she realised it was Ron, his entire weight crushing – at least that's what it felt like – her limb. There was no sign of Ginny…Luna must have taken her home, and only when she slowly pulled her arm out from under Ron – literally terrified of waking him – did she remember what had happened last night. It took a moment of confusion as she stared at her creased gown in the mirror, hair escaping from its clip, and tear-stained eyes before she'd realised what she'd done.

It would have been awful, but not as bad if only Draco had…kissed her. But the worst thing was that she'd kissed him back – only for a moment before apparating away, but still responded nevertheless, and in her opinion she was no better than Astoria.

A lying, cheating, good for nothing bitch.

She almost screamed in frustration as she felt tears forming in her eyes again. She just couldn't understand – What in Merlin's name had possessed him to do such an absurd thing? And why had she responded? She was taken by surprise to say the least; his kiss had been gentle but insistent. It almost felt as though he cared for her.

But he didn't.

And then the anger surfaced. How dare he? He came to her about a cheating spouse, but that was EXACTLY what he was himself! And she knew that though he may have changed slightly, he was still exactly the same person inside. It wasn't like this would affect him, he probably just felt like going off with anyone to spite Astoria, so how dare he bring her into this? She'd quite literally kissed another man while she was married. And even if she did have doubts about Ron, she still loved him…

At least that's what she told herself. She broke down, sobbing on the carpet of her bedroom, desperately wishing that this mess she was in had never unravelled in the first place. When she eventually sat up, she realised that Ron was gone, and it was dark. She must have awoken later than she thought she had. Exhausted, she crawled back into bed, only to find she couldn't sleep. Instead, she simply stared at the ceiling, trying to be logical but finding no words to express her theories. Defeated, she squeezed her eyes shut, as though by blocking her sight, she could block the whole world out too.

**ooooo**

Draco paced back and forth, back and forth. Astoria had been missing since Saturday, the night of the ball, which meant pretty much the whole of Sunday he'd had to himself to dwell on the happenings of that night. But now, Monday morning, and he was going straight to Charming Investigators. She wouldn't miss work, he told himself, not for anything. And by Merlin, was he going to give her some explaining to do.

How dare she? He didn't know what had come over him that night, and he'd had the whole of Sunday to berate himself, repeating the phrase his father had drilled into him during his childhood:

_You are a Malfoy. Malfoys show no emotion. Act like one._

But now, the anger had overtaken confusion. Yes he had acted out of line, but what in Salazar's name did she think apparating away like some coward would do to solve their problem? Where was the rational character he remembered from school?

He stopped pacing, and grabbed his robes, determined to carry out his thoughts.

Time to talk to Hermione.

**ooooo**

Hermione stopped working for a second as she remembered she needed to owl Rose. Quickly, she grabbed a piece of parchment.

_Rose. Saturday night. Don't even think about lying – I know you were there. I want answers._

She softened slightly.

_Please, honey. I'm just confused – that was an adults' ball, and I just don't understand why you were there. I only want to know why. Owl soon._

_Mum _

She sentthe letter off, than carried on working, but looked up from the paperwork she was using to distract herself at the sound of heavy footsteps. And there, in the doorway, stood Draco Malfoy, eyes blazing. He looked furious. But he was dressed immaculately.

How could he, when he had started this mess, have the nerve to be angry at her – when _she _had done nothing? And she'd spent the best part of her weekend practically falling to pieces: she knew she looked a mess, and he just waltzed into her office as though nothing had happened?

Well, that was slightly inaccurate, but at that moment, she felt fury blaze up inside of her, in her the madness of the moment did the only thing she could.

"OBLIVIATE!" She screamed, pointing her wand at him, but a split second before, Draco had anticipated her move.

"PROTEGO!" he'd yelled, then stepped forward, only inches away from her face.

"GRANGER!" he growled.

"Oh, so we're back to Granger, are we? What happened to "I think first names would be appropriate"?" she mocked.

"That, was BEFORE you tried to remove my memory! What in Salazar's name did you think you were doing?"

"I wasn't the one who KISSED MY COLLEAGUE!" she screamed. His expressions immediately became pained, and he turned away, as though deflated.

"You don't understand." He spoke so quietly, she almost didn't hear him. For some reason, this only fuelled her anger. She advanced towards him with each word she spoke.

"What? What exactly don't I understand, Malfoy? That you kissed me? That you used me? That you practically drove me insane, asking "Why? Why did he do that?""

"I DON'T KNOW!" he bellowed, silencing her. "I DON'T KNOW WHY! Do you think this is easy for me?"

"You tell me!"

"BE QUIET! You have no idea how it feels, to be betrayed by your wife. I was confused."

But she did have an idea. First-hand experience, actually. And at his words, she felt a pang of pain. "So you did use me?"

"NO! I mean, yes. I don't know."

She turned away. She had to maintain a professional appearance – though deep down, she knew it was too late for that.

"Right then, Malfoy - " she began frostily but was cut off.

"Malfoy? What happened to Draco?" he sounded hurt. She scoffed inwardly. He was a good actor.

"I believe you were correct to revert back to our original forms of addressing each other." She spoke scathingly, "I think we should put our _misfortune _behind us and continue in a professional manner."

No answer.

"Do you agree?"

"So you're just going to run away from this? Don't pretend nothing happened!"

"I think we're beyond pretending. And nothing happened. We are in a professional relationship." She spoke louder, trying to convince herself. "Professional relationship only. Is that clear?"

He stared right at her when he answered. It felt as though he was looking through her, with those steely grey eyes.

"Crystal."

**Ack. I'm so sorry, but it was too soon for romance. It it would have been really obvious for them to "fall in love" at the ball...soon, though, I promise. Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? 160 reviews and I'll update!**

**Tris xx**


	15. Chapter 15 - Waltz

**Chapter 15 – Waltz**

**Hi again! RoguesMum - Thank you for being honest...I'm sorry the last chapter disappointed you. Hopefully you'll prefer this one?**

**I've forwarded a few weeks for the purpose of moving the story along a bit more. A big discovery in a few chapters' time, but for now, we just have some fluff :D Hope you like it! **

She sighed in frustration. Weeks had gone by since…the incident…with Draco, and though at first work was painfully stilted, they had eventually become slightly more comfortable around each other. Still, the surname-basis remained, and they didn't share their previous banter quite so often. With Christmas approaching, Hermione simply wanted a break – she was tired of looking after Ginny, avoiding Ron, and having to watch practically every word she said around Draco. As much as she wished things were how they were before, she couldn't allow herself to become close to him again. Complications could only make things worse. And the cherry on the cake – their investigation had moved pretty much nowhere.

"This isn't working Malfoy!" she suddenly cried out, throwing her papers onto her desk. He raised an eyebrow without looking up from the notes he was making.

"Temper tantrum, Granger?"

"It's rude not to look at a person when you address them." She huffed.

"Well I, unlike some people, am actually trying to get some work done. Don't think I haven't noticed the fact that you've been sighing every couple of seconds for the past twenty minutes." He continued to write.

"I – " she stopped at the sight of not one, but two owls at her window. She quickly ran over to let them in.

"Granger, why have you - " his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked up. "Rowena? What's she doing here?" and he strode over to the window where Hermione was coaxing a letter out of Peanut's talons. She stopped for a moment, and giggled.

"She's yours?" she asked.

"Not quite. My son's. What's so funny, may I ask?" he queried, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"Nothing!" she began to snort.

"Don't be stupid! You clearly - "

"Don't call me stupid…stupid!" she tried to glare at him, but the effect was lost as she burst out laughing.

"I'M NOT STUPID! AND WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?!"

She only laughed harder. Suddenly the sound of heavy footsteps – advancing quickly – echoed from the corridor outside Hermione's office. Her laughter turned hysterical as she heard Malfoy mutter:

"Brilliant. It's the bloody hippogriff woman."

Charlie burst into the room, panting.

"I heard shouting!" she yelled, "Who's dying?!" then she registered the fact that Hermione was rolling uncontrollably on the floor.

"What. Did. You. Do to her?" she advanced towards Draco, eyes narrowing.

"Nothing!" he shouted. "She just started bloody laughing like a lunatic!"

Charlie shot him another glare, and bent down next to Hermione, flab wobbling uncontrollably on her arms.

"Mrs Weasley? Merlin's beard, what happened to you?"

Hermione could only choke out one word before she started laughing again.

"ROWENA!"

**ooooo**

Draco massaged his head as Hermione took another sip of her tea as she reclined on her armchair.

"Any time now." He muttered.

"Right." She put the mug down. He noticed she actually wasn't bad-looking when her cheeks were flushed – STOP! He yelled – internally, of course. He couldn't allow himself to act rashly again.

"Right." She repeated.

"Right." He confirmed.

"I have to apologise Malfoy."

"Continue."

She sent a scathing look in his direction. "I think it's just the stress getting to me – I sort of lost control."

"Sort of?!" he was incredulous.

"Well excuse me! But no-one names a bloody owl - "

"THE OWLS!"

"Huh?"

Draco rushed to the window. "We forgot about the letters!" he quickly extracted both letters, threw Hermione's to her, fed Rowena a treat from her drawer, and pushed Peanut out of the window.

Quite literally.

"MALFOY!" she screamed. "WHAT THE HELL?!" she ran to the window and peered out, breathing a sigh of relief seconds later. She turned to him, crossing her arms.

"You just pushed my daughter's owl out of the window. Luckily, Peanut – "

"Peanut?!" he sniggered. "And you thought Rowena was bad."

"Shut up, Malfoy. Just don't do something idiotic like that again." And she ushered Rowena out of her office, before stalking over to her chair and picking up the letter from where she'd left it.

Draco watched as her expression changed and she began to smile, then grin, and only seconds later she was dancing around the room.

He sighed, then turned back to his letter. Crazy witch.

**ooooo**

Hermione checked the letter again, just to see if she had read it correctly.

_Mum,_

_I WON THE AWARD! I can't believe it! Professor McGonagall actually chose Scorpius and I!_

She was too happy to notice the fact that her daughter had used "Malfoy Junior's" first name.

_I already told you that when the professors said that the project we were all working on was going to be assessed – and that the winners' would be awarded house-points and a plaque – we worked like crazy, and Scorpius and I obviously made a better team than I thought, because…WE WON, WE WON, WE WON! Professor Patil said to tell you she's really proud – I'm just boasting now, aren't I? But I couldn't care less. _

_…Mum, that's not the only reason I'm happy…wow…this is harder to write than I thought it would be…but I've got a boyfriend. Well, that's what I think we are – boyfriend and girlfriend, I mean. I'm just rambling, aren't I? But he's sweet, funny, and I really, really like him. A lot. Oh, and he's clever! Ravenclaw, like I am. And I was wondering if you'd…like to meet him? When I come home for Christmas? Please don't tell Dad yet…he'll freak out…I promise I'll handle him._

_Love you forever…please, please reply!_

_Rose xxx _

She glanced over at Draco, to see him slowly start to grin, then laugh, and seconds later, to her utmost surprise, he'd grabbed her arms and began crazily waltz around the room with her. Scorpius had obviously given him the news.

In the moment, she began to sing – quite disgustingly out of tune. Clearly she was delirious with joy.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need! I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree!"

"I just want you for my own."

She laughed with surprise. Draco Malfoy knew a muggle song?

"You know Mariah Carey?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Kinda."

"I'm impressed!" then they both began to sing again. It was quite simply madness.

"More than you could ever know." Draco twirled her around more slowly now.

"Make my wish come true." He sang, alone. "All I want for Christmas…" He slowly dipped her towards the floor, so he was leaning over her.

"Is…you." She breathed.

She could see the twinkle in his eyes from their crazy endeavour. His hair was mussed up, out of its usual perfect composure, and he actually looked human. She'd never seen Draco laugh this much before. He pulled her back up to her feet, then walked over to her desk for a glass of water. She stayed where she was, rooted to the spot.

"That was…insane, Granger." He laughed, then turned around.

She didn't reply.

"Granger?"

She didn't know what had overcome her, but suddenly Hermione knew what to do.

"Granger, are you - " he was silenced as she strode over to the desk, grabbed his face with both hands, and kissed him full on the mouth. Seconds later, she felt him respond and place hands either side of her waist. She slowly pulled back. He looked at her dazedly, but then a smile slowly spread across his features.

"Oh."

**Yay! I told you we'd have a second kiss soon :) Just to be clear, Hermione wasn't wacko-happy because of Rose's boyfriend - she kind of overlooks that slightly - but because of the award. Well, we have a serious conversation in the next chapter...please give me your thoughts on this one, and at 171 reviews I'll update!**

**Tris xx**


	16. Chapter 16 - Conditions

**Chapter 16 – Conditions**

**Hello everyone :) I guess this everyday updating is becoming a regular thing now! The response to the last chapter was wonderful...thank you all so much. ANEwrites - I said 171 reviews because that would be exactly 10 more ;) But we're at 175! And yes, I have already written the whole story, and I'm currently working on a new one...**

**Well people, this is basically just the two of them talking. Hope you like it!**

It was almost as though Hermione hadn't just stridden across the room and kissed Draco Malfoy, because all of a sudden, she felt shy. He wasn't the most handsome person, but it was undeniable that he was good-looking…in a sort of intelligent way. Sure, his jawline was sharp and his chin was pointed, but when his hair was messed up slightly, he looked good. Better than good. And with those grey eyes that quite literally seemed to change colour, or harden, or twinkle depending on his mood, Hermione couldn't understand how she hadn't noticed how much she really liked him before. Draco could keep his face completely void of expression, but only moments ago she'd realised that if she looked closely into his eyes, she could easily tell what he was feeling.

She was almost attracted to the slight vulnerability in him.

And then it hit her. The only reason she hadn't fallen for him before was because she wouldn't let herself. Why?

Because she was married.

"Draco I - "

"First names again?" he teased, smirking.

She shot him a small smile. "Listen, I – "

He'd interrupted her again; only seconds later she found herself looking up at him only centimetres away, his hand tilting her chin up slightly and gripping her should with his other one. Slowly, deliberately, he bent down and kissed her, but she forced herself to pull away, breathless.

"You don't understand." She muttered, waiting for him to explode. His quiet tone surprised her.

"I do. I understand. But I can't let you pull away again."

"But - "

"Let me speak." he placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "Look, Hermione. I can't pretend I didn't hate you. And you still irritate me. A lot. With your bloody "I must do what's right" attitude."

"Is this supposed to console me?"

"Wait." He said, seriously. "I'm not going to pretend that I can deal with any of your friends, because I can't. But when I'm around you, I almost don't care what other people think. Why? Because I only care about _you_. I'm not in love with you, but I cannot deny how I attracted I am to you. I love to tease you, because that means I get to talk to you. Properly."

"Draco , I - "

"No, I'm not finished. Hermione, my character hasn't changed at all. But my beliefs have. I don't think about blood purity any more – I still hate Gryffindors, " he smirked, "but I can overlook that for you. Listen, I hated you in school. Because you were Potter's friend – that's a legitimate reason, I hate that suicidal maniac – but also because of your blood status: a-not-so-legitimate reason. So let me make it up to you."

"We could just be friends?" she tried, weakly.

"But I don't want to be "just friends". I want more."

"Spoilt brat." She tried to smile.

"I don't deny it. I want _you_. And don't pretend you can deal with "just friends" too."

She pulled away from him. "Draco, there's a problem."

"What, Hermione? Tell me! I don't understand!" he was becoming frustrated.

She felt tears gathering in her eyes, and whirled around to face him. "BECAUSE I'M MARRIED! AND YOU ARE TOO! You blame your wife for cheating on you, but that's what you're asking me to do! To cheat on my husband! I shouldn't have kissed you in the first place…do you not understand that?! It goes against EVERYTHING I've ever believed, Draco! And it's not fair to my child, and my husband, nor is it to yours!" and she collapsed, sobbing into his arms.

"Astoria has done the same to me."

"Precisely what I'm saying. And an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind, Draco." She heaved, between sobs. "And besides, Ron has done nothing to deserve this." She lied.

"I see."

"I just don't know what I want any more."

"Neither do I."

"I'm so confused." she began to mumble, more to herself than him, as he slowly rocked her back and forth. "Why did this have to happen to _me_? What do I want?"

"Me." She heard Draco whisper.

**ooooo**

Draco felt as though someone had reached inside his chest, and was squeezing, squeezing hard. His throat felt constricted and he could barely breathe. He understood what was happening to Hermione…and he couldn't pretend it didn't hurt him. It was shocking, how his former rival had changed him from an emotionless, indestructible figure to a broken, romantic fool, in only days. And it hurt him to see the turmoil she was going through.

He'd been selfish as a child, so it was easy to think about what _he_ wanted. But for someone who had spent practically their entire life working only for the good of others, to think about themself for once and make such a significant decision…must be difficult. And then he realised what he could do.

"Hermione, get up." He commanded.

She slowly pulled herself away from him, and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She really was a wreck. A beautiful wreck, albeit.

He held her hands in his, and squeezed them gently. It felt strange to offer such a tender gesture. "You're confused, correct?"

She nodded.

"Because you don't know what to choose?"

She nodded again, and wiped her eyes ferociously, evidently trying to pull herself together again. That was his Granger.

"Hermione, you don't want to make the wrong choice."

She nodded once more, slowly.

"Then what if you have no choice?"

Curiosity overcame her, and he watched as she tried to work out what he meant. Trust the bookworm inside of her to try and process information to logically figure it out rather than ask for his meaning.

"I mean, that what if I forced you to go out with me?"

She nodded, realisation dawning on her.

"That way, you won't have to make the wrong decision." He smirked.

"Wait, but surely I could simply say no…?"

He raised an eyebrow. Merlin, she was thorough. "Fine, but what if I was to blackmail you?"

"With what?"

"Oh, I don't know! The fact that you and Potter were together - "

"We weren't - "

"Or I'll tell your daughter we're working together - "

"But surely - "

"Or Weasley will find out that you went to a ball with me - "

"Only for - "

"LOOK HERMIONE!" he silenced her. "Merlin, I will ask you out on a date, and you will say yes because you have no choice! Let's just leave it at that!"

After the initial shock of his outburst had registered, she smiled, coyly. "Surely you'll have to ask me out first?"

"Fine. Hermione Grang - "

"Uh-uh-uh! That's not my name!" she teased, enjoying her new position of dominance.

He glowered at her. "Hermione…Weasley, will you go out on a date with me?"

"When?" she asked, smiling.

"I don't know! We'll figure out something!"

"I'm not sure I want to go out with someone who doesn't organise things properly!"

"Hermione." He growled, and pushed her up against a wall. She continued to giggle much to his frustration. "Don't push it."

"Fine." She said, "But only this once."

"Good." He leant forward to kiss her, but she turned her head so it landed on the corner of her mouth. She giggled, again.

"Ask permission like a good gentlemen." She goaded him.

"Fine, "milady". Do I have permission to kiss you?"

When she looked up at him, smiling, he felt his breath catch painfully in his throat. "You do."

He bent his head towards hers, sliding his hand round the back of her neck and kissed her, pouring all the relief he felt into it. He vaguely registered her smiling into his mouth, before she pulled away. Slowly, she began to twist the fine strands of hair at the back of his neck. It brought shivers to his spine.

"Draco." She smiled, sadly now. "This is going to be difficult for me. I'll need your support – I can't help but feel like I'm betraying my family," she whispered, staring into his eyes, her gaze unwavering, "but for once, I want to do something for ME. I've spent all my life doing what others want…but now I'll need your help. A lot of it."

He felt a rush of affection towards her – a strange sensation. It was ironic how much the situation had changed; to reassure her, he used the very same words he'd mocked her with only a couple of weeks ago.

"For you? Anything."

**Fluffy goodness :) Again, lots of people are wondering about the unsolved "mysteries". Patience, guys...all will be revealed in a few chapters. For now though, more fluff...get as much of as you can while it lasts, because it's not all smooth-riding from here...**

**I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter. Can I ask for 185 reviews?**

**Tris xx**


	17. Chapter 17 - Flying

**Chapter 17 – Flying**

**Hi everyone! Ok, so lots of you want Ron to...be taught a lesson, I guess, and a few of you are opposed to Hermione cheating on him. Well, it's not going to last for long :P You'll find out what that means soon...**

**There won't be much on Ron until chapters towards the end, but I can assure you that he WILL be dealt with. And as for Hermione...you've got to remember that she's spent her whole life doing what's right for her family for her family. She KNOWS what she's doing is wrong, but she's almost trying to ignore that fact. Give her a break, guys. She deserves it :)**

**Well, this is just a filler really. I just wanted to write a cute chapter before everything starts to go haywire...so hope you enjoy it.**

Precisely one week later, and Hermione felt like life simply couldn't get any better. She knew she was acting like a lovesick teenager, and though guilt often plagued her at night, Ron's absence due to quidditch training simply meant that her relationship with Draco was flourishing even more. She often asked Rose about her boyfriend – her first boyfriend too – who seemed to be everything for her daughter that Draco was for her. Their conversations together were intellectually stimulating, and she realised that they were pretty much on exactly the same wavelength. They like the same books, music and more…and the fact that they were both strong characters led to many actually enjoyable debates. He too seemed to have transformed, teasing her fondly even more than he had before, and going as far as buying gifts for her simply because he felt like it.

There was only one problem. The case still wasn't moving ahead.

She'd spent nearly all of her time in the office – Draco and her had actually only interacted with each other during work. She was so eager to solve the case that her enthusiasm made up for Draco's lack of it. He seemed to actually stop caring about Astoria…obviously their relationship had had an effect on him too.

At the moment, she was sitting at her desk, surrounded by notes and desperately trying to use a code to figure out the odds of Astoria seeing Draco's deputy. She was failing, miserably. But she was so absorbed in her work, she didn't even realise Draco had entered the office until she heard a clatter and looked up to see that he had swept practically all of her notes of her desk. Her protests were futile, and seconds later he'd lifted her up onto it and was kissing her with a passion that made her legs turn to jelly. When he'd pulled away and grinned at her, she literally couldn't speak and had to wait for her heart to stop thumping in her chest.

"I like that much more than working." He murmured, and neared once more.

She forced herself to back away. "Draco!" she protested, "We should be working on the case." And she lightly pushed him on the shoulder, and hopped off the desk.

When she heard no reply, she looked up again to find him stuffing her things into her bag.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?!" she exclaimed…more amused and intrigued than annoyed.

"That's it." He said, with an air of finality, "I've had enough. We've been together properly for a week, and we haven't even gone on a date together."

"But the case!"

"Screw the case. I want to spend time with you - and not at this desk." He grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Where are we going, you nutcase?!" she laughed. "I've got to work! Stop it!" she resisted, not very convincingly.

"Somewhere that'll blow your mind." He whispered in her ear, before she felt the uncomfortable sensation of side-along apparition. Seconds later, and they landed in some sort of garden. Draco caught her as she fell, and she could feel the strain of his muscles through his shirt as he supported her weight. Clearly he wasn't used to physical work. It only made her even more attracted to him – everyone had flaws…his made him even more perfect in her opinion.

"Where are we?"

"The Manor gardens." He answered, dropping her bag on an outdoor table, and pulling her closer to him to shield her from the cold.

"Astoria?" she asked, quizzically.

"Is out. Again."

She smiled.

"So, we have the garden to ourselves. And the house. I wonder what he could do to pass the time?" he murmured seductively in her ear. She shivered.

"I don't think that's appropriate…"

"Oh well." He shot her one of his genuine grins again. "Can't say I didn't try. Anyway, I've actually got something planned. Follow me." And he strode away into the depths of the perfectly manicured garden, leaving her no choice but to follow.

They arrived only a couple of minutes later outside a ramshackle shed – the only thing looking remotely old in the garden.

"Wait here." Draco instructed, and came out moments later holding…possibly Hermione's worst nightmare. IT was gilded with gold – probably genuine – and stood up straight as though it was mocking her.

"No, no, no." she backed away. "And no again. If you think I'm actually going to get onto that…_thing_ willingly, you'd better think again!"

"Hermione!" Draco advanced, brandishing his broom. "Look, just try it!"

"Uh-uh. No way."

Draco looked down, then back up at her. Puppy-dog eyes did not suit him. "For me?"

Her resolve didn't break. "Not even if I was paid a million galleons. I said I wouldn't get on that thing willingly, and I meant it."

"Oh well." A wicked gleam appeared in Draco's eyes. "I guess you've left me no other option."

**ooooo**

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" he heard her scream, "LET ME DOWN, LETMEDOWNLETMEDOWNLETMEDOWNLETMEDOWN!"

He only whipped the broom around in a loop again. He turned around for a moment to see her eyes squeezed shut, and her clinging desperately onto his shoulders. He laughed.

"Come on, Hermione." He slowed the broom down so they were simply hovering. "I've stopped now. Open your eyes."

"NO!"

"Please. The view is beautiful. I want to share it with you."

"YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU CAST A FULL BODY-BIND ON ME AND TIED ME TO THE BROOM!"

He grinned sheepishly. Not that she could see him. "I removed it once we were up here…"

His answer was a jab in the back. He turned around to watch her. She was beautiful…her cheeks were flushed from the cold, and her hair wild from hurtling through the air, but that just made her even more gorgeous.

"Please, just open one eye? I promise I'll hold onto you."

"Fine." She sighed, resignedly. He felt her nails digging into his shoulders as she cautiously opened one eye, then the other.

"See? Isn't this amazing?"

"I…" she couldn't finish her sentence, because moments later, she'd thrown up. Violently.

"Wonderful." Draco muttered.

**ooooo**

Draco pulled off his sodden shirt, and sat on the sofa next to Hermione, where she was wrapped in about three duvets, clutching a mug of coffee, and shivering violently. Her hair was dripping down her back, and he pulled her close to him in an effort to warm her up.

"That went well." He joked. Almost immediately after she'd gracefully thrown up, it had begun to pour with rain, and the pair had rushed inside to try and salvage their clothing.

"S-s-sorry." She whispered over the chattering of her teeth. "I freaked out a bit."

"A bit?"

She tried to laugh, and smiled at him. "I still hate you, you know."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I know you're afraid of flying…I guess I thought I'd magically make you see how amazing it was, and then we'd have a romantic evening amongst the stars…"

She laughed, and nuzzled his shoulder. "Well you were wrong."

"Eh."

"Still…" she grinned mischievously, "This is pretty romantic." She pulled the blankets off her, so he could see her clothes clinging to her body. "We're both dripping wet, half naked, in front of a roaring fire," she gestured towards the fireplace, "and getting pretty cosy." She leant up to kiss his cheek. He could feel her cold nose on his cheekbone, and drew her even closer to him.

"Lucky me." He smiled, as she absently traced patterns on his bare chest. He stroked her hair, then tilted her chin up to look at him. "Now how about we make use of our lack of clothing?" and he slowly kissed her, and began to undo the buttons on her shirt.

She batted her hand away. "Not so fast, mister. Nice try, but no amount of romantic talk is going to get me into your bed."

"I never said anything about a bed! I was thinking, more here." He gestured at the floor in front of the fireplace.

"No way."

He laughed, and kissed the tip of her nose, saying for the second time that night:

"Can't say I didn't try!"

"Yep. Dream on." She smiled, smugly.

"You sure know how to hurt a guy." He rubbed her shoulder fondly.

"It's what I do."

**They're so cute together...I didn't want to write an "innapropriate" scene, hence Hermione's behaviour - fending off Draco's advances. :D I felt that's what her character would do as well...**

**Right people, we have some action coming up. Which leads to even more action. =) We're on 188 reviews...so Can I ask for 200? It's a nice round number...Yep. So, 200 reviews and I'll update!**

**Thank you, everyone. Love you all,**

**Tris xx**


	18. Chapter 18 - Bombshell

**Chapter 18 – Bombshell**

**Ugh...people, what can I say? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know I should have posted yesterday, but I didn't know that I'd be out for the day... please don't hate me! But, we DID get past 200 reviews! That's AMAZING...thank you all so much. Another quick apology for the mistakes in the last chapter - and thanks to Virg0Luck for pointing those out. Go check out her new story! It's called "Insanity".**

**I have read all of your reviews, and I've got to thank you for every little bit of criticism - or praise - that you've given. Guys, I don't want to bore you by individually answering questions, but I HAVE read them, taken them into account, and hopefully the next few chapters will explain everything. Regarding Ron: PATIENCE! He will get what he deserves...**

**Well. Without further ado: here it is!**

Hermione looked up when she heard a rustling sound in front of her, to see someone peering into her face.

"AATCHOO!"

"EEEW! Mione!"

"Ginny, what are you doing here?! You should be in bed!"

"I'm pregnant, not an invalid." The red-head snapped, "And you've got snot on your nose."

"Thanks Ginny." She muttered.

"Sarcasm's wasted on you."

Hermione hurriedly wiped her nose with a tissue – her rendezvous with Draco had left her with an awful cold as a souvenir.

"Ginny. You didn't answer my question: why have you come to the office?"

"Aren't you happy to see me?" tears began to gather in her eyes. Hermione was quick to jump up and wrap her arms around her – the hormones really were messing with her friend.

"No! Nothing like that Gin! I'm just surprised – that's all. And caught up with work. But I always have time for you." She sent a reassuring smile in Ginny's direction. "Here, sit down."

Ginny sniffled, and crossed her legs, which was somewhat difficult considering that at the moment she was the definition of "thunder-thighs".

"Where's Malfoy, Mione? Don't tell me he lumped you into doing all the work." She said, bitterly.

"No, nothing of the sort. He's at home for the day – we're not meant to be working on the case today, but I really, really want to solve this." her feelings for Astoria were bitter to say the least, and she began furiously rifling through the papers on her desk.

"What?" asked Ginny.

"Who Astoria's lover is." She muttered distractedly.

"Umm…"

"You know, the person we're trying to find who's secretly seeing her!"

"ASTORIA'S CHEATING ON MALFOY?!" Ginny screeched.

"Oh, Merlin, I wasn't meant to say that." She froze.

"This is brilliant! Take that, you slimy, ferret-faced prat! Now you know how it feels to be looked down on!"

"GINNY!" Hermione scolded.

"It's true! He deserves it!"

"No, he doesn't! You know nothing about him now, Gin! He's completely torn-up about Astoria, and you are NOT helping!" she felt strangely defensive about Draco.

"Woah. Mione. What's up with you?"

Hermione realised she was being far too obvious. "Sorry. Just tired, that's all." She smiled weakly, plagued with guilt.

"Yeah, you've been acting strange." Ginny muttered.

"What?"

"I mean, Ron's out quidditch training, so you should have spare time, but I've hardly seen you in the past couple of weeks!" Hermione swallowed guiltily at her words. She'd been completely caught up with Draco. "And when I have seen you, you're always really distant…like you're thinking about something else."

"Um, it's just work, Gin. We're really trying to solve the case." She lied, "About that. You've got to SWEAR not to tell ANYONE about Astoria! Promise?"

"Yes, fine." Ginny dismissed her with a wave of her hand, and conjured up a bowl of what looked like seaweed and fudge. "Can I eat in here? Good." She ploughed on without waiting for an answer, "It's not only that, Mione." She took a mouthful of the disgusting concoction from her bowl. "I fleep you schmook schflurpier!"

"What?!"

Ginny swallowed. "I said, I think you look prettier."

"Um, thanks?"

"It wasn't meant as a compliment."

"Oh."

"Your eyes are all twinkly, and you blush and smile a lot more. It's like we're teenagers again and you have a new crush!"

Hermione gulped at how close she was to the truth.

"You know what?" she tried to joke, "It must be being around Dr-Malfoy." She quickly corrected her mistake.

"WHAT?!"

"You know! Sexy grey eyes, tall, gorgeous hair!" she listed, "and he smirks a lot. Confidence in men is attractive. Don't you think?" she teased, trying to dispel the nagging feeling in her gut.

"You're joking, right?" Ginny smiled queasily. "I see what you're doing. Well, if he wasn't so arrogant, and didn't have such a pointy chin, he might look alright!" she played along.

"He does not have a pointy chin!"

"Ha. It actually sounds like you like him. See, this is why I don't want to work in an office. It makes you go wacko."

**ooooo**

"Shouldn't you be working?"

"Thanks, Blaise. It's great to see you too. Please, do come uninvited into my home and insult me." Draco sneered.

"Sorry, mate. Just wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well…it is my house. Sit down, have a drink." He gestured to the bottle of firewhiskey on the table in front of him. ""If you didn't come to see me, then why are you here?"

"Um. No reason, mate. Just wanted a bit of peace and quiet…but chilling with you is cool…So where's Astoria?" he added casually.

Draco sighed. Obviously off to see _him _again. "Don't know, Blaise. Shopping, most likely." He lied. "So, how's the mystery girl?" he asked.

Blaise immediately broke into a wide grin, his white teeth standing out from his dark complexion. "Amazing. Brilliant. She's…wonderful."

"Did you take my advice?"

"About the whole "being unfaithful" thing?" he asked. Draco nodded, swallowing hard. "Yep, and you couldn't have been more right. Thank you, Draco, I owe you."

"What did she say?" he sidestepped the compliment.

"She said things are complicated at the moment, but she'll divorce the other guy as soon as she can. And then she's all mine."

Draco sighed. It sounded like this woman was simply leading him on – Blaise was obviously too stupid – or lovesick – to see it. He wished he were with Hermione, and could have an intellectual conversation for once. "Good for you."

Blaise downed his glass of alcohol, and glanced at his watch. "I should go. Talk to you later."

"Yeah."

He apparated away.

Immediately after he'd gone, Scorpius' owl swooped down the chimney. Draco quickly read the letter he'd been sent, dropping it on the floor in shock when he'd finished.

His face had blanched even paler than usual – if that was possible.

**ooooo**

"It's sweet that Rose sends you letters, Mione." Ginny smiled.

"Yeah. Give me a second." She quickly scanned the contents of the letter that Peanut had delivered only minutes ago.

It couldn't be true.

Her hands began to shake uncontrollably as she stuffed her things into her bag. "Ginny, I've got to go." She spoke, urgently.

"What happened? Is Rose ok?" she asked, concerned at Hermione's tone of voice.

"She's fine. Sorry about this. I'll see you later." And she apparated away, without another word. Ginny sighed. Hermione was eccentric, to say the least.

**ooooo**

"Is it true?!" Draco looked up from his seat to see Hermione burst – or pop – into the room.

She ran forward. "Is it true?!" she repeated. Draco nodded.

"Rose owled you?" he ran a hand through his hair.

"It can't be true!" she shouted, ignoring his question. "I…I don't understand! How?"

He stepped forward, holding her arm tightly. "Calm down. There's got to be a way around this. Read the letter."

She nodded.

"_Mum,_

_Christmas is…in a week? I'm coming home…and I'm bringing someone with me. I know this is going to be hard. Harder than hard. You probably think I'm making no sense. Okay – I want you to meet my boyfriend. We're not serious, I promise: I'm only 14, and I know how you feel about "relationships". But I think that it would be good for you and dad to meet him properly, and I've been invited to his home to meet his parents too. That's not the big deal though. I promise he's completely different from the rest of his dad: kind, smart, intelligent, funny. He's not prejudiced; he wasn't brought up like that. And he swears he truly likes me, he's not screwing with me. Give him a chance Mum, you're always saying that people deserve a second chance. And I know what I'm doing. I spent a lot of time with him during our project work for Professor Patil._

_It's Scorpius Malfoy."_

**Yep. Lots of you guessed right...it's Scorpius! What's this going to do to their relationship? Oh, I've got to apologise, because I'm aware that this chapter isn't one of my best. I'm not sure why, but it was really difficult to write...still, you'll find out what happens in the next chapter. At 211 reviews (sorry ANEwrites! Not a multiple of 5...) I'll update.**

**Tris xx**


	19. Chapter 19 - Flames

**Chapter 19 – Flames**

**Hi guys! Thanks for all the reviews, again. Ugh, I want to answer your questions...but I don't want to give anything away! So sorry =( everything will make sense by the end.**

**I quickly want to say that I posted the first chapter of another fic today: "Opposites Attract". It's really different to the other stuff I'm currently working on...but that's the point. Pretty much every character is OoC...but it's good for a laugh. R&R if you're interested? Thanks xx**

**Also, this chapter's pretty short, because I only wanted to focus on Draco and Hermione. Hope you enjoy it anyway!**

"There's got to be a way around this!" Draco kicked the coffee table hard, before turning his back on Hermione.

"Look, let's…" she breathed deeply, "think about this logically. If we just - "

"Wait!" he turned around quickly, urgently gripping her shoulders and looking down at her with panic-stricken eyes. "Who says we have to do something?!"

"For the love of Merlin, what do you mean?"

"Who says we have to do something?" he repeated, desperately. "Just because our kids are together, doesn't mean we can't be!" he was frantically out of character.

"Listen to yourself! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Why not?!"

"Well, let's just kiss each other senseless while our kids are doing the same next door!" she exclaimed, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We can make it work!"

"Godric help me, are you insane?!"

"WHY?!"

"BECAUSE IT'S WRONG!" she bellowed. "And disgusting! How could you even think such a thing?!" she knew she was unfairly lashing out on him, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Why should we be the ones to have to sacrifice?" he answered, quietly.

"What are you going to do, Draco?!" she shook his arm, "tell your son to stop seeing my daughter because you're dating her mother?"

"I'll figure something out!"

"No, you won't." she said, with an air of finality. "Because they are our children, and we have to do what's right for them. Besides," she continued, trying to ignore the tears prickling her eyes, "this was all wrong anyway. We shouldn't have been together. Perhaps this is for the best. Perhaps this was an opportunity to break it off before it's too late."

"I can't believe you're saying this."

"Well you'd better. Just because we love each other - " she froze, and so did he.

"You…love me?" he whispered.

"No, I…I mean, yes…I mean," she stammered. "I just meant that - "

And then, it was his turn to explode.

"YOU LOVE ME?! HOW DARE YOU? You love me, and you're still going to throw what we have away?!"

"I have no choice!" she protested. "This isn't exactly easy for me, Draco!"

"There's always a choice." He quickly continued before she could speak. "But I can see that you've made your mind up."

She nodded, swallowing hard, and furiously brushing away the traitorous tears gathering in her eyes.

"How are we going to deal with work?"

"We'll continue as we always have." She answered shortly, not trusting herself to refrain from bursting into tears. "And Draco?"

"Yes?" he asked, roughly.

"When we're around each other, we're going to have to act distant…as though we dislike each other. Our children – at least Rose doesn't know about us working together, so as far as they're concerned…we hate each other."

"That shouldn't be a problem." He answered, coldly.

She turned away, feeling her resolve break, but was spun back around to find herself face-to-face with Draco.

"Merlin, Hermione, of course it's a problem! How can I see you contently, and not be allowed to kiss you?! Or laugh at your jokes? Or smile when _you_ laugh?"

"And smirk at my sarcastic remarks about your stuffy background, and spoilt behaviour. Which is true, by the way." She added, as a weak attempt at humour.

"Sweet Salazar, stop it." He murmured.

"Stop what?"

"Being you." He concluded, before kissing her so hard she felt as though she would collapse at any moment. Slowly, she pulled away, with the bitter knowledge that it would be the last time they kissed.

"No, Draco." She whispered.

"Why? Don't take this from me, at least." He moved in again.

"Because this shouldn't be harder than it is already." She backed away, towards the fireplace. "Don't forget what we had, because of this." She called out, before throwing a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and calling out:

"Charming Investigators!"

Draco stared as the flames roared into life, turning to what now looked like a putrid green to him.

"Never."

But she'd already gone.

**='( Yep. The relationship is over...for now. Next chapter: Christmas! Yay! Um, so if you think I did ok (or not!) with the whole break-up scene, please leave a review with your thoughts. We're on 214 reviews, so at 225 (rounding it up) I'll update.**

**Thank you, everyone. Love you all,**

**Tris xx**


	20. Chapter 20 - Christmas

**Chapter 20 – Christmas **

**Hi! So, the last chapter was short - to make up for it, this one's way longer =) ...Argh, I'm so embarrassed:**

**"100 reviews?!"**

**"Is that a typo?!"**

**"That is crap!"**

**Yes, yes, and yes. I didn't mean to write 315! I changed to to 225 as soon as I got your reviews. Speaking of reviews - 17?! Overnight?! That's AMAZING (for me). Thank you all so much...well, hope you like this one as much as you liked the last!**

_Hermione,_

_The team is still training. Too caught up…I won't be able to make it home in time. Tell Rose it can't be helped._

_Ron_

She crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the fireplace. Of course it couldn't be helped, she thought bitterly, before plastering a smile onto her face and walking downstairs, for Rose's benefit. Christmas day and her husband was too busy to spare time for his family. Life was just peachy.

One week ago she and Draco had broken up. One week ago, it felt like she was on top of the world, and now, at the bottom of it. She was of course overjoyed to see Rose again, and shocked at how different Scorpius was to his father…and she had to admit, they were very sweet together. The big introductions were out of the way, and Scorpius had already become a regular addition during meals at home – not that she minded, because she knew that Rose was often at the Manor too. She was careful to give her daughter space – for Rose's sake, as well as her own.

She knew that Scorpius was with Rose at the moment, but as she strode into the living room, she recoiled in shock. Rose was sitting on his lap, hands entangled in his hair, and Scorpius had his hands on her waist, kissing her passionately. She felt a pang as she realised that he held Rose exactly the same way Draco had. Only then did it actually register what they were doing, and she became protective, then amused in a space of only a couple of seconds. The situation was actually quite funny…she remembered what it was like being walked in on when she was with Ron as a teenager, and decided to pass the embarrassment on to her daughter. Perhaps then she would refrain from physical contact in the future!

"Ahem." Hermione cleared her throat, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. The speed at which the two youngsters jumped apart was admirable.

"Oh! Mum!" exclaimed Rose, turning that familiar Weasley shade of red, "We were…just…we didn't see you! And - "

"Yes. I could see that." Hermione raised an eyebrow.

Scorpius was quick to jump to Rose's defence, standing up, and bowing his head slightly. "I can assure you this was a first, and we were not about to act rashly. Your daughter means a lot to me, and I wouldn't lead her on." He smiled, a charming smile, and Rose turned an even darker shade of red as he slung his arm around her waist, not deterred by the fact that Hermione was standing there, and kissing her quickly on the cheek. Hermione couldn't help but notice the small smile Rose tried to prevent from appearing.

"I see. A smooth one, you are, like your father." She spoke, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Indeed." He offered another of his devastating smiles, "and now I shall have to make an even smoother exit." He added cheekily, before trying to slide past her in the doorway.

"Not so fast!" she pulled him back to face her. Rose bit her lip, a gesture Hermione had done herself many times. She smiled.

"You haven't tasted some of the scones Aunt Ginny baked yesterday!"

**ooooo**

"Theesh are famtashmic!" Scorius exclaimed, helping himself to another bite of a scone from Rose's plate. Hermione laughed.

"Heyy! Eat your own food, greedy!" Rose cried out indignantly, trying to grab the scone back, but failing.

"I have! And now I'm eating yours!" Scorpius took another bite, taunting her.

"I take it you like them, then?" Hermione asked, trying not to laugh at the way the pair interacted with each other. It really was endearing. "Ginny stole my recipe, so technically I should get the credit." She joked.

"Mmm." Scorpius mumbled. "They're amazing! I never get food like this at the Manor!"

"You're mother underfeeds you?" Hermione asked, playing along.

"Nope."

"Then?"

"She doesn't feed me at all!" at Hermione's disgusted expression, he continued hastily. "I mean, she doesn't cook. And Father prefers these disgusting dishes like _caviar_," he shuddered in disgust, "in ridiculously small proportions!"

"Well, I've eaten there, and I think the food's fine." Rose declared.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Hermione narrowed her eyes in mock disgust, "I remember Draco Malfoy having a particularly…_extravagant_…taste." She swallowed hard at the thought of him.

"I could not agree more!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Rose!" Hermione suddenly cried out, "I forgot to tell you! I'm so sorry honey, but your dad's still training…he can't make it home for dinner tonight."

"Oh." Rose stopped chewing. "Okay then." She was clearly disappointed. "I guess we can celebrate Christmas with just the two of us."

"I'm so sorry, honey." Hermione said, squeezing her shoulder.

"Nonsense!" Scorpius jumped up from the table.

"Pardon?"

"Mother is out tonight too. You should come to the Manor for dinner!"

"Oh! Could we really?" Rose hugged him, adoringly.

"Oh, Scorpius, that's really very kind of you. Are you sure your father wouldn't mind Rose coming over? It's a lot to ask…" Hermione was clearly doubtful.

"You misunderstood me. You should both come." He smiled.

"Oh I couldn't possibly - "

"Nonsense! I won't take no for an answer!" Hermione was beginning to like him more and more. "Now, dinner is usually a formal event, so I would dress up." He added. "And don't you worry about father. He'll be more than happy to comply. I'll notify him now!" and he'd kissed Rose quickly, before bursting out of the doorway before Hermione could protest.

"See you at 8!" they heard him call out.

Rose looked up at her mother, and Hermione grinned back down at her.

"He really is something, isn't he?"

**ooooo**

"Oh, honey," Hermione breathed, "You look beautiful."

Her daughter was wearing a set of dark jade-coloured robes, and had managed to pin her hair up loosely in her own version of a French twist by herself. The slight messiness only made her look even more beautiful, even without make-up – which she wasn't a fan of, like her mother – and she'd even gone into the effort of painting her nails a dark blue to match.

"Scorpius gave me the nail varnish." She grinned, "He seems to think that all girls survive on make-up."

"What did you say?"

"I told him I'm not like other girls."

"You really like him, huh?" Hermione asked. She knew that the only reason Rose had dressed up was for Scorpius…but frankly, she couldn't care less.

"Yeah, mum." She smiled, "I really like him. Could you do this up for me?" she held out the necklace Hermione had had made for her for Christmas: a silver chain with a charm of a blue and silver book. If you looked closely, you could see the words "Hogwarts: A history" inscribed.

"Sure honey." Hermione brushed the hair away from the back of her neck and slowly did up the clasp, and Rose turned around to smile at her.

"I'm wearing two things from my two favourite people."

Only then did Hermione realise that she hadn't mentioned her father.

**ooooo**

"Welcome." Draco opened the door to the Manor, and Hermione felt another pang as she looked at him outside of the office for the first time in a week. It was almost as he'd changed: everything, from his clothes, down to his eyes, which looked as though they could display even more emotion than she'd remembered.

"Good evening." Hermione smiled politely, pretending that they were still on uncertain terms. She saw his eyes flicker, then heard practically the whole house shake as Scorpius thundered down the stairs.

"Rosie!" he exclaimed, and swung her around in his arms, before kissing her chastely on the lips. He was as spitting image of his father: same hair, eyes, and clothes – white shirt, unbuttoned at the top – and black trousers, robes, and shoes. Only the personalities differed. She could imagine him being a teen heartthrob however, with that easy smile Draco lacked, and ability to make you feel as though he was hanging on every word you said.

"I trust father has treated you well?" he asked.

"Play nice, now." Rose added, jokingly.

"Well. Any guest of my son is a guest of mine." Draco nodded, sincerely. "I've had the pleasure of meeting you, Rose, and I hope we can put our differences in the past aside, Gra – Mrs Weasely."

"Oh, please, call me Hermione, Ma – Mr Malfoy." Hermione said, trying to act as though she was having difficulty being polite. All for appearance's sake, of course.

"And I, Draco." He spoke, before extending his arm. "Shall we proceed to the dining room?"

**ooooo**

Dinner was an extravagant affair to say the least, with dishes Hermione hadn't even heard of before. Throughout, Rose and Scorpius were engaged in animated chatter, and she and Draco pretended to be interested for their sakes. But she couldn't help but steal glances at him the entire time to see how he was coping, and she caught him doing the same a few times. They even managed to exchange weak smiles – but it hurt. A lot. Still, she knew she'd made the right decision.

When they'd eaten enough to provide for a small army, Rose cleared her throat, swallowing down her last bite of Christmas pudding.

"Um, Scorpius and I have something to say." She fiddled with her napkin, and Scorpius ran a finger round the inside of his shirt collar.

"Mum, were you at a ball a few weeks ago, in Hogwarts?"

"I was!" Hermione exclaimed, eyes narrowing. "It was for a client." She added.

"Yeah. And…you saw me there."

"So it WAS you! When you didn't reply to my owl I simply let it go…I thought the letter had been lost somehow!"

"Well I did get it. I just wanted to tell you personally…because it was our first date." She smiled shyly at Scorpius.

"What's all this about a ball?" Draco asked. Hermione inwardly commended him for his acting skills.

"One held at Hogwarts, father." Scorpius said.

"I see."

"Mum, I promise you, I've never snuck into another event like that before. The real reason I was there was because…I wanted to impress Scorpius. He always seemed so much more adventurous than I am, and I just wanted to prove that I could be fun too!"

To her surprise, Draco burst out laughing.

"That's actually the sweetest thing I have heard!" he cried out. "Merlin, Hermione! You have a delightful daughter!"

"That's my Rosie." Scorpius smiled at her fondly. "You can thaw the heart of even evil Mr Malfoy. Careful, he'll start showering us with gifts now!" he exclaimed.

Hermione shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised. I recall you being rather spoilt back in the day, Draco!"

"Well! This is just betrayal!"

"Speaking of which," started Scorpius, with a smirk, "I recall you promising me a dance this evening, Rose."

"Oh…" she mumbled.

"Yes! You must certainly come to the ballroom – what's a dinner without a dance afterwards?" exclaimed Draco.

"Well, that really is very kind, but it's getting late, and we really should get going before it becomes dark." Hermione protested, conveniently "forgetting" the fact that they could just floo home, therefore darkness wasn't an issue.

"Yeah. Sorry, Scorpius…" started Rose, looking dejected.

"Now, we can't have that. You simply must let the children - "

"Father." Scorpius spoke warningly.

"My apologies. You must let the _teens_" he corrected with a smirk, "share at least one dance. And if it becomes late, we will gladly provide you with a room for the night.

"Oh, but you've already done so much - "

"I insist!" Draco cried out. "Shall we go to the ballroom?"

**ooooo**

The ballroom was everything both Rose and Hermione had expected, with high, arched ceilings and intricately carved designs of the walls. When Draco flicked his wrist, a seemingly abandoned "string quartet" in the corner began to play, and Scorpius formally offered Rose his arm, much to her delight. To Hermione's surprise, Draco did the same, and soon they were waltzing around the empty ballroom. As they passed Rose and Scorpius, she heard them whisper about how well their parents were getting on, between Rose's girlish giggles. She really was a different character around Scorpius.

"Yes." Said Draco.

"Pardon?" she asked.

"We _are_ getting on well."

"I wonder why." She spoke, drily.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." He whispered.

"Stop it, Draco. They might hear us."

"They won't. I've missed you."

"Don't make this harder than this has to be!"

"I don't care. I _have_ missed you."

"Draco." She spoke, warningly. "Look, they really are sweet together." She attempted to change the subject.

"Let's go to the study." He ignored her comment, abruptly stepping away from her.

"But the children!"

"Scorpius, we'll be retiring to the study for some drinks. Mrs We – Hermione – is rather tired. If you need us, just knock." He said, but it was pointless, as Scorpius was absorbed in speaking with Rose, in hushed tones. The pair couldn't stop grinning, and sneaking looks at each other.

"There." He said, smugly. "They'll be fine. After you." He held open the door out of the room.

Hermione sighed: there was no use arguing with him when he was in one of his moods. She muttered to herself, shooting glares at him at every opportunity she had.

"Here we go again."

**So, we have an awkward conversation between the two next, and something big's going to happen. Only four chapters left! If you liked this one, please review. If you hated it...don't bother =P**

**No, but really. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. Scorpius and Rose are so cute together =) I couldn't decide if I wanted this to be Dramione, or the pair of them...I'm not kidding! Anyways, 241 reviews and I'll update (ANEwrites - sorry! Again! You people give me such difficult numbers to work with!)**

**Hugs and kisses (virtual, of course),**

**Tris xx**


	21. Chapter 21 - Discovered

**Chapter 21 – Discovered**

**Hi everyone! Wonderful response to the last chapter - thank you all for your reviews. I'm not going to say much, except that this chapter is different from the rest - it's mainly Scorpius' POV. I'll say no more...**

"Merry Christmas, Hermione." Draco said, lifting his glass of wine to her, then sipping at it, delicately. The perfect picture of charm, if he wanted to be. She felt that pang in her chest again, desperately wishing she wasn't alone with him in a study because she felt she could hardly resist the temptation of kissing him, he looked so forlorn. Draco looked up from his glass at her.

"One kiss, for old time's sake?" he asked, disguising his sheer desperation with a small smile.

"I wish, Draco. But this is too hard…if you're going to pressurise me, I'll have to leave." She murmured.

"Fine, fine." He said, resignedly.

"So. About Astoria." She tried to change the subject.

"What about her?"

"Any leads on who he might be?"

"The bastard?"

"That's the one." She smiled at him.

"Merlin." He sighed. "No. No Hermione, I have no idea who's whisked my wife away for Salazar knows how long so she has no time to spend with her family any more. Does that answer your question?"

"Perfectly."

**ooooo**

_Scorpius felt his body shudder, turning hot, then cold, then hot again. He felt numb – Merlin, what had he just heard? It couldn't be true – he must have misheard. He and Rose were going up to his room, but they'd stopped outside the study at the sound of his mother's name. He wished they hadn't._

_"Scorpius?" he felt a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Look, we must have misunderstood."_

_"No, Rose. We didn't. My mother…is a cheat. Unfaithful. And my father knew, and he didn't even tell me. And _your_mother knew about it, somehow. Sweet Merlin, this is unbelievable." He slumped against the doorway._

_"Are you ok?" Rose bent down in front of him, tilting his chin up. His heart warmed slightly – she really was amazing._

_"Not really." He tried to smile. "But you're making everything better."_

_"Was that meant to be sarcastic?" she raised an eyebrow…creepily like her mum._

_"Nope. You know…it all makes sense. Why she's been pretty much out of sight the entire time we've been home. I just feel so stupid!" he pounded a fist against the wall._

_They both froze at the sound of footsteps. _

_"Quick!" Scorpius hissed, dragging Rose to her feet, and round the corner, breathing heavily. But to their confusion, it wasn't the study door which opened, but the front door. Scorpius peered round the corner at the sound of high heels on the floor, and saw Astoria herself hurry into the house, looking furtively around. She quickly grabbed some sort of bottle off the small table by the door, then swept outside, as quickly as she'd come in. It was strange that she'd used the front door, he thought, before all coherent thoughts slipped out of his mind and quickly gave way to anger. She had obviously been with _him_._

_"Rose, I've got to go." He slipped away from her._

_"What?! Where?" she followed him._

_"I'm going after her." He turned to her, quickly kissing her on the lips. "Cover for me, if father asks where I am? I promise I'll be back soon."_

_"Scorpius! Wait!" she grabbed his arm._

_"Rosie, please don't try to stop me. I need to do this."_

_"Take this with you." She handed him a small, brightly coloured bag. "It might be useful."_

_He turned it around, so he could read the writing: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes: Invisibility powder. _

_"Rosie!" he grinned, hugging her. "You're brilliant. I need to go now."_

_"Be careful…I couldn't bear it if something happened to you."_

_"I will. And thank you." He briefly touched her cheek, before running to the doorway._

_"You're welcome." She whispered._

**ooooo**

_Scorpius turned his head quickly at a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. It was Astoria. He was lucky – he didn't know why she was walking instead of apparating, but he couldn't care less. Luck was on his side – or so he thought._

_He followed her at a safe distance, trying to slow his breathing and the pounding in his chest. When he turned the corner after her, and saw her enter a house, he could only stop, and gape in shock. It couldn't be. She wouldn't do that…would she? He followed the familiar path, spotting an open window to his relief, creeping forward and staying low, stopping abruptly outside the window as he heard voices. They seemed to be right by the window._

_"Yes gorgeous. I got the wine. Draco's best, as you requested. I can't believe I left it at the door!"_

_He heard someone walking across the floor boards. A familiar voice replied._

_"Well. I have an empty house, a bottle of," he paused, "France's finest, and a beautiful woman in front of me. Why don't I put this situation to use?"_

_Scorpius saw red. He couldn't hear any more of this; ignoring the bile rising in his throat, he screamed out, and jumped up, leaping forward through the open window. He landed with a crash on the floor, and heard a shriek and a yell of surprise. Sitting up, he desperately rubbed his eyes, wondering why he couldn't see, until he realised that the entire room was in darkness. He stumbled to his feet, and lurched towards the sound of sobbing, taking no notice of the throbbing in his right arm._

_"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" He heard someone bellow, before he was thrown to the ground again._

_"I've got him!" the voice yelled, triumphant._

_Scorpius quickly rolled to the side, straight into a pair of legs. Seconds later, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through his stomach. Only then did he realise it was his mother's high heels. He groaned, and tried to sit up, only to be pushed down again. A crack resounded through the room, and suddenly it felt as though everything was spinning; he'd hit his head on the corner of a table on the way down. He spat blood out of his mouth, shuddering at the warm trickle running down the back of his head. As soon as he felt as though he could sit up, he was shoved down for – he didn't know how many times it had been – and felt the air knocked out of his lungs as something – or someone unbearably heavy landed on top of him. Then, pain coursed through his body – he could vaguely register being repeatedly pummelled by someone's fists, but he was so overcome with agony that it barely mattered._

_A voice was heard from the depths of his consciousness._

_"LUMOS!" and he could see nothing but a sharp white glow in front of his face. He started to choke on the blood he was coughing up._

_"R-o-Ros-Rose" he tried to call out._

_"STOP! STOP! It's Scorpius!" he heard a hysterical woman screech, as the voices began to merge._

_"What?"_

_"RUN!"_

_"Salazar help us!" _

_"RUN! RUN!"_

_"I love you Astoria!" _

_Footsteps, thudding. It hurt, everything hurt. He couldn't see._

_Sobbing._

_"ST MUNGO'S!" _

_A woman screaming._

_"I NEED HELP!"_

_Who was she?_

_Everything hurt._

_Hurt._

_Pain._

_Hurt._

_He couldn't see, couldn't think._

_It hurt._

_Hurt._

_And then: nothing._

**Poor Draco =( No Christmas kisses for him! Well...the next chapter carries straight on from here, and there's not a lot of Dramione in it. But bear with me - the last two are all mushy and romantic =D**

**So, the usual. Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Let me know! And at 256 reviews I'll update.**

**Tris xx**


	22. Chapter 22 - Truth

**Chapter 22 – Truth**

**Wow, guys! 19 reviews overnight! Thank you all sooo much...I love reading your feedback, and I literally couldn't stop grinning this morning =D Some of you were wondering how Scorpius recognised the house, but not who Astoria was with. He recognised the house, so he DID actually know who Astoria was with. But I just didn't want to say his name as you find out in this chapter...**

"I've got 2357 here. Repeating: 2357."

"Straight into the OP zone!"

"Faster! He won't make it!"

"MY BABY!"

"It's all my fault."

"That's a code 2357!"

"Get Healer Davis!"

"Healer Davis!"

"What's happening?"

"MY BABY! MY BABY!"

"Scorpius!"

"Where is it?!"

"Everyone calm down!"

"Mr Malfoy!"

"He's not listening!"

"Mr Malfoy!"

"I need help!"

"MR MALFOY! MR MALFOY! MR MALFOY!"

Draco's head snapped upwards, and he lurched forward, towards his son's levitated body.

"Mr Malfoy! Step back!"

"Scorpius." He croaked. "No!" He tried to run forward, but slammed into some kind of shield after a few steps, and was thrown to the ground. He tried to shake away the fog clouding his vision, dazed, as he felt someone beside him.

"Draco?" Hermione whispered.

"Scorpius."

"He's in there. Merlin, what the hell happened?!"

"I was alerted by staff." He tried to sit up. "Scorpius!"

"No, Draco," she gently pushed him back down, so he was lying on the floor. "You've hurt your head."

"Scorpius!"

He could hear sobbing, but it wasn't Hermione. Silent tears were streaming down her face.

"Oh!" he felt a thump next to him, and saw Rose on the ground. She was unconscious. He tried to get up, but felt a vice-like grip on his arm. It was Rose. What? Slowly, she opened one eye. It was bloodshot, tearstained.

"Lie down." She hissed, clearly trying not to sob. He obliged, closing his eyes. Seconds later he felt the ground shake as someone ran over.

"What happened?!"

"They fainted! Both of them."

Hermione.

"Quick! I need help!" he suddenly felt himself being lifted up, and willed himself not to open his eyes.

"Miss, I'm sorry, you can't come through here."

"THAT'S MY DAUGHTER!"

"And the man? You're in a relationship with him?"

"I'm currently the closest thing he has to family." She snapped.

He heard a weary sigh. "Fine."

The click of a door, and suddenly, he was lying down again. He cautiously opened one eye.

"It's ok. They're gone." Hermione's hair was wild, her dress partly torn, and the heel broken off one of her shoes.

He slowly sat up.

"Rose." Hermione ran over to her daughter, and kissed her on the cheek, hugging her fiercely. "Well done, my darling. That was quick thinking."

He was snapped back into reality as Rose burst into tears.

"What happened to Scorpius?"

"I don't know, honey."

"Where are we?" Draco leapt out of bed.

"On the same side of the "shield" as your son. They're only letting one family member in with him…I don't know who's already there."

"Astoria…" he whispered, then turned to Rose. "Thank you, Rose." He spoke, and then ran out of the door before she had the chance to answer.

He turned, quickly, left, then right, trying to catch a glimpse of anyone in the corridor. He tried to figure out which direction they'd come from…left, so Scorpius must have been the other way. He began to run, the pounding of his feet in time with the thumping in his chest.

He didn't know what had happened, or why he was called to St Mungo's for his son, but he could bet it had something to do with his wife. Quickly he skidded round the corner, coming face-to-face with one single door, silver lettering level with his eyes: _OP Zone_.

He snatched his wand from his pocket, advancing towards the door, and yelled:

"ALOMAHORA!"

Nothing happened. No click of the door, nothing. He ran forward, slamming into the door, and it swung open easily. It wasn't locked – strange.

He looked up to find a pair of legs directly in front of them. Following them up, he saw the one person he wanted to kill at that moment: Astoria.

"What happened?!" he grabbed her shoulder, pushing his face close to hers. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"It wasn't me! I didn't – Oh, Scorpius!" she was hysterical, a sobbing wreck.

"WHERE IS HE?!" She pointed a shaking finger behind him. He turned, to find himself at the foot of a bed. Scorpius' bed.

He ran forward, grabbing his son's limp hand, staring at his emotionless face. There was no more blood on him, but most of his body appeared horribly disfigured.

"SOMEBODY!" he screamed, "HELP! Where are you?!"

"It's too late." He heard Astoria whisper. He ignored her, fumbling for his wand again.

"REPARIFORS! FERULA! EPISKEY!"

Nothing.

He spun around, grabbed Astoria by the throat and shoved her against the wall. "What the HELL did you do?! HELP ME! Get someone! Do something!"

"It's too late, Draco!" she was weeping.

He tightened his grip on her throat, fuelled by rage, but felt himself being dragged away, suddenly.

"Mr Malfoy! There's nothing you can do!"

He tried to fight back, but it was no use. The room was suddenly filled with people, checking charts, and prodding his son.

"SCORPIUS!"

**ooooo**

He didn't understand. How. Why. He could cry no more. He felt empty. Decieved. He didn't know how long he'd sat there for. Hours? Days? He didn't care: time mattered no more. He wanted his son.

"Draco?" he felt a cautious hand on his shoulder, turning around to see Hermione. The sight of Rose clinging onto her arm made everything flood back again, and he screamed out, before burying his face in her shoulder, weeping tears he thought he'd run out of.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, "I'm so, so sorry."

"Mr Malfoy?"

He didn't want to deal with anyone else.

"We're occupied at the moment." Hermione's voice rang out, sharp, unimpressed.

"We tried."

"Obviously not hard enough."

"We couldn't do anything! He was half-dead when we were finally alerted - "

"I think that - "

"He already had two puncture wounds in his stomach, had split the back of his head, was suffering from broken limbs - "

"ENOUGH!"

The corridor was silent, all except for Rose's sobbing.

The Healer cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I was outspoken. It's the stress – I'm so sorry. We tried."

"Well."

"I truly am. I'm sure he was a wonderful boy."

Draco leapt up. "NO! Not was! Is! He IS a wonderful boy!"

"He's gone, Mr Malfoy."

"No." he shuddered, again, and collapsed back onto the chair. He couldn't face the truth.

"I think he deserves to know what happened." Hermione spoke, with her arm around him. "Merlin, I'm so sorry Draco. I'm still in shock. Please excuse my lack of emotion…"

"Don't." he whispered.

"You're right." She turned to the Healer, looking at her expectantly.

"We can't really - " she was silenced by a warning glare from Hermione. "Um…I think the circumstances allow an exception, actually. It seems that the boy was attacked, and physically injured in the home of - "

"My wife's lover." He spoke, trying not to be sick.

"From what she's told us. The room was in darkness, so your wife didn't realise it was him, she was hurting - "

"ASTORIA DID THIS?!"

"No! Not all of it."

"Why did I let him go?"

All three people turned to look at Rose. She started to cry again.

"Scorpius followed Astoria to…the house. He told me not to tell anyone – this is all my fault! WHY DIDN'T I STOP HIM?"

"No, darling." The Healer bent down in front of Rose. "This was not your fault. You are a brave, brave girl, ok?"

Rose lifted her head, and glanced towards Draco. He nodded, trying not to cry again. "It wasn't your fault." He turned back to the Healer. "Then what happened?" he choked out.

"Well. It appears the man fled, and your wife contacted us, and we contacted you. That's all."

Draco stood, trying to ignore the pain in his head, which felt like it was about to split open. "So – so you can't tell me who killed my son?!" he rasped.

"They didn't mean to - "

"I don't care!"

"Well. Your wife refuses to speak, but we may have something, and permission from the Ministry may be gained to use Veritaserum. We found blood – not Scorpius' – under his nails. When we tested it, we found two different samples: one was from your wife, and luckily - "

At Hermione's glare she rephrased her sentence.

"And strangely enough, the other sample was from someone who had recently come to St Mungo's. If he hadn't we may not have been able to find who - "

"WHO WAS IT?!" Draco bellowed. He looked formidable; grief seemed to have turned him into some sort of monster…from the outside.

"Mr Malfoy, we have been warned that you are closely acquainted with this person, so - "

"TELL ME!"

"Very well. The person who attacked your son – and is most likely to be your wife's lover – is Mr Zabini."

Hermione gasped.

"Blaise Zabini."

**I think I made it pretty obvious that it was Blaise. He did get away, so there's no Draco beating the crap outta him next chapter... just warning you!**

**About Scorpius - I'm sorry! But it had to be done. So, do you think I wrote this chapter well? Or not? Let me know, and at 275 reviews I'll update.**

**Thanks everyone!**

**Tris xx**


	23. Chapter 23 - Remembrance

**Chapter 23 – Remembrance**

**Bloody hell! You guys - 27 reviews?! Thank you, thank you, thank you...aah! This is amazing!**

**So...most of you freaked out about Scorpius' death...sorry! It had to be done! And you were wondering how Blaise managed to escape: he had the sense to run way before Scorpius was even taken to the hospital. Guys, he's a wizard - he could have been anywhere in the world by the time they found out it was him...**

**The next few chapters move pretty fast. And I just realised that we actually have two more chapters to go after this! Not one! Yay!**

**I need to stop blathering on. Right. Enjoy!**

_One Month Later_

"And so," Concluded Professor McGonagall, "let us raise our wands to a boy who was greatly loved by his friends, family, professors, and everyone here at Hogwarts. Scorpius Malfoy, you shall forever be in our hearts." The usually stoic woman was clearly on the verge of tears, as was pretty much every person gathered outside Hogwarts. Slowly, one by one, students and teachers alike began to raise their wands to the sky, each one sending a jet of sparks shooting up into the expansive blue. When they had finished, the crowd stood together, staring at the seeming blanket of glitter hanging over the school. It was a beautiful way to pay tribute to him.

As the crowd slowly began to disperse, Hermione caught sight of Rose, surrounded by a group of friends being ushered back into the building. She was worried about her daughter; for the sake of her parents, Rose tried to act fine, but it was clear that she was hurting inside. And she was too young to have her heart broken.

Hermione tried to call out to her, but Rose was clearly oblivious to everything and everyone around her. Instead, she turned her attention to Draco who was standing beside her. He was still staring at the sky, as though he hoped he could somehow see his son for one last time. Hermione had thought he was in a world of his own – she could only imagine the pain he was feeling at the moment – but only seconds later he grabbed her shoulder for support as he began to sway.

"Come on, Draco." She squeezed his arm, "I'll take you back home."

The pair apparated into her sitting room, where Draco sat down on her sofa heavily, exhaling slowly.

"You ok?" she asked. Stupid question; he clearly wasn't.

"Mm." he briefly nodded at her, before resuming his previous position. Hermione knew that for the first week after Scorpius' death he was completely inconsolable. But now, unlike her daughter, he had maintained an emotionless air about him, never letting anyone close. She knew he had reverted back to his original form of veiling his feelings, and it hurt her to see how much pain he was in.

"Want to talk?" she sat down beside him. He probably didn't, but she desperately needed him to open up to _someone_.

"No, not really. But I sense you're not going to leave me alone until I do." His voice contained no trace of humour.

"That's right." She smiled, encouragingly.

"Well. I divorced Astoria." His statement was out of the blue.

"You WHAT?!"

"I divorced her." He replied, simply.

"But…when? How? She's being questioned by the Ministry, and from my experience divorces are a long, and complicated procedure! The fact that she's being questioned about her son's - " she stopped speaking abruptly, as a shadow of pain flickered across Draco's features, so quickly that she barely noticed it. "I'm sorry." She rubbed his shoulder. "That was insensitive of me."

"Not at all." His voice was hollow. "And to answer your question, I think that despite their professional appearance, someone in the Ministry felt sorry for me. Things move quicker in the Wizarding World anyway, Hermione."

"I'm happy for you, Draco." She tried to smile.

"I'm not."

They both stopped speaking at the sound of footsteps.

"Who's that?" Hermione whispered, standing up quickly, trying to shield Draco and holding her wand out. "Show yourself!"

But they needn't have worried. It wasn't some psychotic killer, but her husband, striding down the stairs.

She actually wasn't sure which was worse.

"Ron!" She cried out, helplessly. "I thought you were training for quidditch!"

"Back today."

"That's wonderful." She lied. "I'm so glad."

"Evidently not. I see you've been keeping yourself busy whilst I was gone."

"What?"

"Him." Ron spat, pointing an accusing finger at Draco, still seated on the sofa.

"No! You don't understand!"

"I think I do." Ron began to advance, menacingly quite. "I always had a feeling you were lying about the article. I knew you were a liar. And a cheat. Betraying your husband."

"I have not betrayed ANYONE!" she screamed, "and if only you were around for longer than a couple of minutes at a time, you would see that!"

"Do NOT speak to me that way!" Ron grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him so he could spit in her face.

"What's gotten into you?! Let go!"

"A cheat needs to be taught a lesson." Ron growled, twisting her wrist quickly.

"STOP!" she shrieked, "STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

Like a flash, Draco had snapped out of his daze and leapt to his feet, slamming his fist into Ron's face. He stumbled back, reeling, before raising his head and roaring, charging towards Draco like some sort of crazed bull. Draco quickly jumped to the side, leaving Ron to run headfirst into a wall. Stunned, he crumpled to the floor. Hermione tried to stop herself from trembling, as Draco moved to stand in front of her protectively.

"Get out." Ron choked out.

"You're lucky we won't report you to the Ministry for this."

"For what? Claiming my wife?"

"For domestic violence." Draco spat out, "You're no better than dirt. Dirt on the bottom of my shoe."

"You disgust me."

"No." Draco stalked towards him, "No, you disgust me. It was you hurt Hermione, wasn't it?" realisation dawned on his features.

"That's none of your business." Ron hissed.

"Your right. It isn't. But this is." And with no warning whatsoever, he began to furiously kick Ron's broken body, never relinquishing his hold over him.

"Draco! Please! Stop!" Hermione begged, trying to drag him away. He relented, wiping his face on his shirt sleeve.

"Just remember, a word about this to anyone, and every newspaper in the country will know about what you did to your wife." Draco began to walk away, leaving Hermione no choice but to follow.

"GET OUT!" Ron roared, with his last ounce of strength, "And don't EVER think about coming back!"

Draco stopped, and turned over his head. "Your uncontrollable violence lost you your wife, today. Never forget that."

**So Ron and Astoria out of the picture =D Nothing can stop Draco and Hermione from being together now...Yeah. I really wanted Draco to beat the crap outta Ron at some point, so I couldn't resist!**

**Right...you liked it? We have some mushy romance in the last two chapters *sighs dreamily*. Can I ask for 305 reviews? But I don't think I'll be able to post before tomorrow...Still!**

**Love you all,**

**Tris xx**


	24. Chapter 24 - Moonlight

**Chapter 24 – Moonlight**

**20 reviews...what can I say? Again - thank you! This is becoming a bit of a habit now, isn't it?**

**A few things to mention:**

**No, there won't be a scene with Hermione talking to Rose about her relationship with Draco. Not in this chapter, and the epilogue skips forward, so assume that she does speak to Rose after this chapter, but no-one knows that they were dating secretly previously.**

**Yes, lots of Ron bashing, but no, he's not going to be arrested. They had a deal, remember? And this has been my first fic...so Ron bashing was just a novelty I couldn't resist.**

**Yep, the is moving fast now, and this chapter skips forward a few months, as does the epilogue. Guys, I had nothing I wanted to put inbetween - and there's a summary sort of paragraph at the beginning of this one, so don't freak out too much. I just don't feel like dragging this fic on...**

**So here it is! I promised you some fluff...enjoy!**

Another five months had passed since Hermione had moved into the Manor. She and Draco were on a strictly friends-only basis, and after the encounter with Ron and his generosity towards her – giving her a home until further notice – she and him and become even closer. She had finally managed to draw him out of his shell, she realised, and though he was still tormented at times by his son's death, and often experienced nightmares about it, Draco was a practical person and had realised that Scorpius wouldn't have wanted him to spend days in mourning. He was helping no-one. And so, as the weeks went by, life slowly but surely returned to a relative state of "normal".

"I'm home!" Hermione called out as she stepped out of the fireplace. "Got any food? I'm starving!" she said, having stayed at work late today.

No reply.

"Draco?" she called out, hurrying up to her temporary room, worried. Had remained home after the case had been solved, feeling it was better for him than working in an office environment. And if he was out, he'd never failed to notify her so she wouldn't stress about him.

Hermione ran into her bedroom to throw her bag on the floor, but stopped short. For the love of Merlin, what had he done this time?

There, laid out on her bed was the same very same dress and shoes that she had worn to the Hogwarts ball, months ago. As she neared she noticed a note on one strap of the dress:

_Wear this, and put on your face, or whatever you women call it. Make sure you look pretty – can't be too hard for you. Then read this again._

-_ D_

She sighed, wondering what he'd planned this time, and quickly slipped the dress on, pinning her hair up and swiping on some lipstick. She looked slightly rushed, she realised as she examined her reflection in the mirror, but the simple gorgeousness of her gown drew attention away from the strands of hair escaping for her clip. She picked up the note again; this time, the words had been replaced with an arrow pointing towards the window. She followed the obvious instructions and peered out into the garden, with difficulty due to the darkness. Then, all of a sudden, a quick flash of light caused a glow to rise over the entire area, and she gasped in shock at the sight before her. There, standing on the lawn in perfectly ironed robes and holding a rose in his hand was Draco Malfoy himself – his trademark smirk in all its glory. Behind him, a table was set up, covered in some sort of embroidered – very expensive looking – table cloth. Two candles were glowing gently, and she could see flowers in a vase and a meal set out on the table, a lantern hanging above, casting a splash of light over the table. The entire scene was ridiculously clichéd, but it still brought tears to her eyes.

"Sweet Merlin, Draco, what have you done?" she called down to him, laughing.

"Why don't you come on down and see for yourself?" he swept his arm towards the table, with an exaggeratedly extravagant gesture. Still smiling, she apparated in front of him, giggling at the surprised expression on his face before he managed to compose himself.

"For you, my dear." He held out the rose, but snatching it away from her outstretched hand at the last moment and tucking it behind her ear. "Take a seat." He pulled out a chair, ever the gentleman, then took his seat opposite her. "Please, do begin. I myself am simply famished." And he flicked his wand, causing a bottle of wine to pour two glasses for them. "To us." He raised his glass, before drinking.

"Draco." Hermione tried to look stern. "What have you broken this time?"

"What _do_ you mean?" he tried to look indignant, but failed, the corners of his mouth twitching as a giveaway.

"The dress, the meal, the lights. It's all beautiful – and unbelievably cheesy – but really. I know you're trying to soften me up for some terrible news."

"Can't I simply prepare a meal for my wonderful housemate without an ulterior motive?" he asked.

"No." she replied, firmly. "Now spit it out. Quick."

He sighed, and stopped fiddling with his napkin. "Once again, you've seen right through my disguise. You clearly know how to - "

"Stop stalling and get on with it!" she laughed.

"Alright." He was suddenly serious. "The truth is that you were right Hermione."

"I KNEW IT!" at his look, she coughed embarrassedly. "Sorry. Continue."

"As I was saying," he shot a pointed look in her direction, "you were right. I do have something to tell you, but not what you have in mind." He stopped, taking a moment to gather the courage for what he was about to say. "I know, that for the past few of months I haven't been the best company - "

"That was hardly your fault!"

"But still." He said, firmly. "And I apologise for my behaviour. This time…has been difficult, for both of us. The failure of both of our marriages for one thing. And…there's Scorpius. It hurts more than you could ever imagine, Hermione...but you've made it hurt less. And I've been waiting a long time to say this; Hermione, now that we are both unmarried, there is no reason for us to be apart. Just listen," he said, desperately, "Rose and Scorpius would understand: we aren't taking advantage of this situation, but I can't help but feel this was meant to be." He was being uncharacteristically sentimental.

"Oh, Draco. You shouldn't have even needed to ask me."

"No, that's not all." He interrupted her. "I don't want this relationship to be secret anymore. I want the world to know how much I love you…and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Is that a proposal?!" she was alarmed.

"No! Not at all!" he spoke, hastily. "But I do want you to live in the Manor, with me."

"What about Rose?"

"Well of course she would stay too! I do love your daughter, Hermione. And it will be difficult for her, but someday I'd like her to think of her as my own."

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard." She mumbled. "And _you_ said it! What has the world come to? Oh, see, now you're making me teary!"

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes, you silly goose!" She stood up to embrace him, and he swung her around, before kissing her gently and setting her back down.

"This is perfect." She whispered.

"Not so cheesy anymore, huh?" he teased.

"No, still unbearably so. But it's alright, because it's our cheese."

"What?!"

"That didn't make any sense, did it?" she laughed, the romantic moment broken.

"It really didn't."

"Oh well. You'll have plenty of time to work on my English now."

"Is the bookworm admitting she's not always right?"

"Eh. What can I say? Love does strange things to you."

**There you go! They're back together! Yay =)**

**I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter - and at 325 reviews I'll update...oh! We're at 312 reviews: GUYS! MADE IT PAST 300! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!**

**Ahem. Just ignore that =P We only have the epilogue to go...**

**Love you all,**

**Tris xx**


	25. Epilogue - The Next School Year

**Epilogue – The Next School Year**

**Guys...thank you all so much for your reviews. I'm going to miss this fic like anything - but I've loved sharing it with you, and I couldn't have done it without your help. You regular reviewers are simply indescribable; there's a huge list of people I want to thank, but I don't want to bore you. You know who you are.**

**So, for the final time: here's the chapter. Hope you like it =)**

"Mum!" Rose yelled from the doorway, "DRACO! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!

Hermione ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time, before grabbing her daughter's hand and starting to open the door – for some unknown reason.

"Mum!" Rose cried out, "Where's my suitcase?!"

"Your what?" Hermione stopped fiddling with her keys, realising that she had no reason to open the door.

"My suitcase! You said you'd pack it!"

She froze. "I know, but – well – last time…you…you had already - "

"Oh, sweet Merlin. It's not packed is it?"

Hermione shook her head meekly.

"DRACO!" her daughter roared. She really was quite formidable.

Draco apparated in front of them suitcase in hand, and a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

"_I _took the liberty of packing your things, Rose, because I had a feeling that _some _people were incapable." He shot a smug look in Hermione's direction. Bad move. She turned to him, hands on hips.

"Well _you,_" she mimicked the emphasis in his sentence, "don't cook her three meals a day! I need a break!"

They began to bicker, like a pair of teenagers in competition for approval.

"BE QUIET!" Rose roared. Sometimes she felt like she was the only adult in the house. "We need to leave, NOW!"

"Right." And the unlikely group apparated to the train station.

**ooooo**

"Rosie, hold on for a minute." Draco quickly pulled something out of his pocket, before she could jump onto the train, and handed it to her. Rose slowly unwrapped the parcel, a comically quizzical expression on her face exactly matching Hermione's. She gasped in delight once she saw what it was.

"No! I didn't even know these were available anymore!" she cried out.

"Actually, they aren't. Had this custom made." He smiled, proudly.

"Oh!" she gasped, hugging the silver-gilded copy of her favourite book to her chest.

"Draco, that's so sweet of you." Hermione kissed him, her expression quickly changing to one of mock outrage. "But why didn't you tell me about it?! I want to be able to take some credit for such a wonderful present!" she laughed.

"Actually," Draco started, "this isn't really from me." He sighed, "Rosie, it's from Scorpius. Your Christmas present…he saved up for a long time for that." He smiled, sadly. "He didn't have a chance to give it to you before he…you know. And I wanted to give it to you at the right time."

"Oh." Tears gathered in her eyes, and she smiled, before standing on her tiptoes and kissing Draco on the cheek. "It really is beautiful. Thank you."

Hermione bent down to hug her daughter, and stroked her hair…much to Rose's embarrassment. "You'd better get on that train, honey." She smiled. "Make us proud. We'll be thinking of you!"

Rose turned away, after hugging Draco and Hermione, and moments later she'd disappeared out of sight as the Hogwarts Express pulled away.

Draco put his hand around Hermione's waist, kissing her gently, oblivious to the curious expressions of people around them.

"I wish Scorpius could have been here."

"Me too."

"But we've done the right thing, haven't we? Rosie's growing up."

"You've been a wonderful father. Never thought the day would come." Hermione laughed, and the pair began walk away.

"Well. Look who it is."

Hermione froze, and turned around slowly, gripping Draco's arm.

"Weasley." Draco spat, "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I say goodbye to _my _daughter?" Ron glared, possessively.

"You weren't that keen last year." Hermione muttered under her breath. In a louder tone, she added, "You're too late. They're gone."

"Fine. But I need to speak to you."

"What is it, Weasley?" Draco asked, impatiently, moving to stand in front of Hermione.

"This is none of your concern, Malfoy. It's regarding MY daughter."

"Draco's been as close to a father as Rose has, and will get." Hermione defended him, moving to stand beside him.

"I want Rosie to stay with me for Christmas."

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Hermione screeched, and Draco had to pull her back from Ron as she advanced, snarling.

"Weasley, you lost your right to make demands a long time ago." Draco replied, stonily. "Now if you'll excuse me, Hermione and I have some business to attend to." And he'd grabbed her arm and apparated them both away before he could say anything else. They arrived with a pop in their bedroom at the Manor, now sporting a pastel-coloured scheme after Hermione's insistent re-decorating.

"Draco!" she pushed his shoulder. "I was going to give him a piece of my mind!" but she quickly started to laugh. "Merlin, you sounded so stuffy: "We have some business to attend to!"" She imitated.

"But we do." He growled, pushing her onto their bed and kissing her feverously. When he finally pulled back, he was confused to see not lust in her eyes – as he'd expected – but the look of someone studying a particularly interesting specimen. He pulled away.

"You know," Hermione started, "I just realised something."

"And that would be?" he prompted, put out by her lack of reaction to his amorous attempts.

"You're not very handsome."

"What?!"

She stood up, and began pacing around the room. "You're really not that good-looking. And you're arrogant, stuffy, snobbish…the list's endless. I'm not actually sure why I'm attracted to you." She turned to face him, a flicker of a smile playing across her features.

"Well." He spoke, drily. "That's reassuring."

"But," she started again, "the thing is, I _am _attracted to you. And our situation really is quite peculiar."

"Elaborate, please." Draco spoke with sarcasm. "Actually, you know what? I'm really not in the mood for a Hogwarts-style lecture from Miss Granger."

But she ploughed on anyway. "We're like the Romeo and Juliet of the Wizarding World!"

"Who!?"

She ignored him. "We should have a title."

"Oh, Salazar. You really aren't right in the head." He moved closer to her. "Go on, tell me what you're thinking."

"We should be called… the Serlion!"

"What?!"

She sighed dramatically, trying not to laugh. "You were in Slytherin. A serpent. I was in Gryffindor. A lion. Hence, the Serlion."

"Hermione, you've lost it. I'm taking you to St Mungo's." and despite her shrieks of protest, he swept her into his arms, bridal style. The pair were laughing as he made his way downstairs, until Draco stopped abruptly, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"I just realised we haven't had a honeymoon."

"Um…we're not married."

"True…okay, how about we christen the bedroom instead?" a wicked smirk appeared on his face.

"You don't mean…"

"Oh, yes I do."

"But we've already…you know…in there! It's not really "christening" then, is it?"

"Ah. That is true. What about the kitchen?"

"The kitchen?! Are you out of your mind? I've never done anything like that before!"

"There's always a first time for everything."

**There we go. A bit crazy, I know, but I wanted to make you laugh. Quickly, I need to thank Virg0Luck: you are AMAZING. Thank you for introducing me to the crazy world of FF, and I have to say, I really couldn't have written this without you.**

**One last time: R&R? Thank you - I'd love to know if you think this was good enough =P**

**Some sneaky advertising...I've literally just posted the first chapter of my new fic: "Carousel". Dramione, of course. If you've liked "Uncovered" so far, I think you may enjoy reading it - so check it out for me? Thank you so much.**

**Guys, love you all more than you could imagine...**

**Tris xx**


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